Vampiric Fate
by Lady Karo
Summary: Haruka has distanced herself from people since high school. Her only friend is her childhood friend, Blake, who urges her to make friends with a new girl in college. Haruka finally starts to warm up to Michiru only to find her world is turned upside down when she is attacked by a vampire. Haruka hides it from Michiru only to learn everyone has their own secrets hidden in the end.AU
1. Chapter 1

I originally started this as a fanfiction based on two different characters on a completely different site 10 years ago (of which I have granted myself permission to resume here). I never completed it but I've decided this year I will finally complete my story. I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine. I'm an amateur at writing but I love to tell stories so please bear with me.

This is a story about how far someone will go to keep a secret that leads to betrayal. The bite Haruka receives is only the beginning to a greater plot that slowly unravels. With each answer she finds more questions appear and in the end she learns everyone has their own secrets they hide.

Romance/Supernatural/Suspense/Mystery

Now that I've completed this story I will be slowly working on a full revise and adding a lot more to it. I just touched the main points in the story for what is written currently.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Prologue

Every day as the year came closer to an end it grew colder. The days were chilly and the nights could nearly freeze a person to the bone. Snow lightly fell and the grass was thick and crunchy; the roads remained clear of ice as workers strive to keep it maintained.  
In the small town along the eastern side of the United States lives Haruka Tenoh. Haruka stands taller than most women. She wears her sandy blonde hair short and can sometimes be mistaken as a handsome man.

Little does she know of the dark history that surrounds her town. There is something thought to be lurking within the city itself, a dark side to it that remains undiscovered by the public. Even though she was born in this town she pays no attention to the history of it.

Haruka pulled up to a small corner store on the side of the road. On her way home from a friend's house her father texted her asking her to pick up some milk. Before stepping out into the cool night air she pulled up the scarf tight and snug up to her nose. A breeze instantly picked up blowing over her harshly and the chilling air sent her speeding to the door with haste. The door bell rang as she opened it and lunged forward.  
She muttered a bit to herself in her husky voice as she lurked around the old store searching desperately for the gallons of milk. The store was quiet as many people were at home avoiding the cold weather blowing in. When she had finally set sight on the milk she scurried over to it grabbing the first one she saw and went to the counter.  
"Why 'ello dere." The clerk greeted Haruka. "Sho is col' outside, ya know. Why is you out so late?"  
Haruka sighed briefly before answering. "Didn't want to get out in the cold again but Dad needs milk for the morning."

"Well I 'ope it wort it." The clerk continued using her slang. "Stay war' 'n drive safe."  
"Thank you." Haruka said as she made sure the scarf was tight preparing to endure the weather outside. When the door bell rang upon opening the door another chilling breeze blew hard on Haruka and she sprinted to her car flying in at the instant the car door was open. The frosty night had not yet penetrated the warm air that still resided in her car and without any hesitation she began her journey home.  
The trees added an eerie feeling to Haruka as she drove home, a dense fog had begun to emerge from the tree line and onto the road. Haruka shivered thinking of what could be lurking beyond the trees, her only thoughts were of getting home. The eerie feeling she had grew as her car began to make strange noises and came to a halt at a four-way intersection.

Haruka sighed and she began to curse at her car. The only light was from the moon and the headlights, in need of more light Haruka reached in the glove box and pulled out a flashlight. She knew precisely what was wrong with the car, as it has done this many times before. Quickly, she ran out to the hood and opened it; fear began to consume her body, the fear of not knowing what was around her in the night so dark. Her heart was beating incredibly fast as she fumbled around with the devices under the hood.

The wind whistled into the forest and the trees seemed to answer with what sounded like a snarl. She could not help but be overwhelmed with fear as the sound of some creature in the dark moved through the trees. The moonlight gleamed into her fearful eyes as she tried to anticipate what was taking shape from the edge of the forest. The crunch of the frozen grass below its feet pervaded in the air as it took its first step out of the darkness. Slowly the silhouette took form as it drew nearer to her. The darkness could no longer bind its figure. Haruka could only stand and watch consumed with fear she felt immobile. A tall, bald and slim creature, well built for its size advanced into her direction. Its head hung low of its shoulders as it walked staring at the ground, Haruka was dreading the moment it would lift its head. Slowly her world began to turn and it grew darker. She watched in horror as it raised its head to look at her, she was horrified as she peered into the sinister white eyes of the creature. Iit sneered at her revealing two large, white fangs. Even the fear that surrounded her seemed to melt away as it forced a stone cold hand on her jaw lifting her slightly from the cold ground pulling her closer into its possession. She heard it mutter something under its breath. Finally her world was gone, blank, total darkness. A sharp throbbing pain in her neck, her last conscious memory...

**xxxxxxxxx**

Chapter 1

_~Two months prior~_

Every morning before her early class Haruka would jog around the track inside the gym. She had earned a scholarship to participate on the track team in her college. A young woman with beautiful aqua colored hair watches and admires Haruka as she jogs every morning. Haruka is not blind to the fact this young woman watches her and intentionally tries to avoid interactions with her until one day…

"You know, you have a lot of admirers." Haruka can hear a woman speak behind her as she walks to her first class. She attempts her best to ignore the comment and continues to walk away from the voice. "There is one girl who would like nothing more than to ride with you in your car." The woman's voice continues.

Haruka stops walking briefly to shake her head. "Then her hopes are too high." Haruka finally responds in her deep voice and a smirk before she continues walking. She turns to look at the source of the voice and spots a young woman with aqua colored hair turning away.

As each day goes on Haruka is constantly approached by the girl with the aqua colored hair. Their conversations often go the same, very brief and direct. Haruka gives her the cold shoulder every time but the girl is persistent.

"You know, I would like join you for a ride one day." The young woman admits to Haruka. "I have admired you since I first saw you jogging in the gym."

Rather than constantly ignoring her and walking away Haruka turns to her. "You're a nice and lovely young woman but you shouldn't indulge in those fantasies." Haruka stuffs her hands into the pockets of her jeans and leans against the wall. "My only focus is being ready for when the track meets begin."

"And I will be there to cheer you on." The aqua haired girl rubs her chin while looking into Haruka's eyes. "My name is Michiru since I have never introduced myself."

Haruka shakes her head as usual. "Like I've told you many times, Michiru, you should take interest in someone else." She replies to Michiru while playing with the keys in her left pocket and her cell phone in her right.

"There is no one else I have interest in." Michiru continues.

"How many times do we have this same conversation?" Haruka continues, now jingling the keys in her pocket. Her mind is only focused on being in top shape for running. "Besides, you don't even know me I don't know why you have any interest in me."

Michiru giggles at the statement. "I find something about you interesting. Not to mention you're attractive."

"I don't think I'm too interesting." Haruka replies quietly. "Although I agree on the attractive." She winks at Michiru.

"A little bit of an ego I see." Michiru smirks.

Haruka leans off the wall and smirks as well. "You're very straight forward."

"I don't see a reason in beating around the bush."

"Well, I like that in a woman. In any case if we are being straight forward then I also find you attractive. Maybe one day you will have a ride with me just so long as you know I have no interest in any relationship right now." Haruka replies now twirling her keys in the air on her index finger.

"You will learn that patience is my best quality." The shorter girl replies. "I think you are worth waiting on."

"Then you may be waiting a while."

"I've watched you since the first day I came to this college. It wasn't until the beginning of this week that I finally decided to approach you."

"I see." Haruka says as she checks the time on her phone. "I have to get to class. I'm sure we will continue this conversation next week."

"I look forward to it every day."

Haruka merely nods to Michiru as she turns to walk a few steps before stopping. "Maybe you will have a ride with me soon." She said and continued to her class.

"I look forward to it." Michiru calls to her.

Haruka arrived to her class to find her childhood friend, Blake. He is the only person she considers a friend. He is slightly taller than Haruka with bleach blonde hair he styles differently each day usually either a short faux hawk or spikes.

"Hey Blake." Haruka greets him as she sits down next to him.

"What's up Haruka?"

"That girl is still talking to me every morning." She sighs rubbing her fingers on her forehead.

"Aww. Maybe you should give her a chance. I haven't seen you with anyone for years."

"You know I'm not interested in a relationship. Besides, I hardly know her."

"Well," he thinks briefly "what do you know about her?"

"She's pretty, no, she's beautiful. I can tell she has a warm heart and I believe she plays the violin. She's also a very patient person. But…"

"But?"

Haruka sighs once again and continues rubbing her forehead as though Michiru gives her a headache. "I don't know Blake. I need to concentrate on track."

"Haruka Haruka… the season doesn't start until spring. You jog every morning, you sure you don't have time to at least get to know her a little bit? How many friends do you have? I'm honored to be your friend but you need more friends."

"I'm perfectly happy with my life right now."

"So you jog every morning, go to class, go home do a few assignments and sleep. Then you repeat it. If I get lucky we might hang out on the weekend or after class. You need more fun in your life. When you see her next time why don't you take her for a ride? Isn't that what she wants? Just because you hang out with her doesn't mean you have to date her."

"That's just the thing. I try to distance myself from her but I know I really like her."

"Oooh!" Blake squeals.

"Don't do that, you sound like a fan girl at some boy band concert."

"Yeah well, when I see you next week you better have at least tried to be friends with her."

"Fine." Haruka replies to him in her serious tone. "Class is starting." Blake motioned to her which gave her one final reminder to take Michiru on a nice car ride to which Haruka only shook her head.

**xxxxxxxxx**

"Michiru." Haruka jogged up to Michiru later that day after classes had ended. She had spotted Michiru leaving a class and decided to take Blake's advice to make more friends. Haruka has always been distant from people relying only on herself. "So I was wondering if you were still up for a ride?"

"Oh the great Haruka Tenoh has changed her mind?" Michiru joked sarcastically.

"Don't get any ideas, I just figure that becoming friends would be nice so long as you don't get the wrong idea."

"Well how about we start with a car ride to my house?"

"Simple enough." Haruka's hands were deep in her pockets fumbling with her phone and keys again. Silently she thought to herself hoping she would not regret Blake's advice. As she walked Michiru followed behind her. She could not help but get the idea Michiru was enjoying the view and stopped. "If you don't stop staring I'll have you walk in front of me." She joked.

"And let you have all the fun?"

"So long as you don't forget what I said earlier." Haruka continued walking now twirling the keys on her index finger yet again. "I guess I could get used to a pretty girl escorting me to my car." Michiru had no response to the statement and smirked as she walked behind Haruka.

The blonde led Michiru through the school to the lower parking lot. The college was comprised of two large buildings. The larger of the two buildings sat atop a hill while the smaller one was separated by a small garden just off the bottom of the hill. The larger building has the gym connected which is placed at the bottom of the hill with stairs leading down to it inside. The lower parking lot is just off the smaller building at the bottom of the hill while the upper parking lot is just off the larger building.

"My father gave her to me when I turned 16." Haruka said as she ran her hand over the hood of her car. "She could use some work but I haven't been able to get around to it."

"So you work on your car as well?"

"Yeah, I can't help it. I love cars. When I was younger I dreamt of being a professional racer but in the end I decided to do track." Haruka leaned against her car, a yellow Mustang Convertible.

"What stopped you from your dream then?"

"I was just really good at running. So, where is your house?" Haruka attempted to dodge anymore talking about her personal life. She opened the passenger side door for Michiru to enter and closed it once she was in safely. "I hope you like the wind because I always have the top down when I drive." Haruka said upon opening the driver side door.

"I think I'll like it. Take a left when you get out of here to go to my house."

"Alright." Haruka sat and started the car. She let the top down and enjoyed the breeze momentarily before driving.

Michiru sat quietly with her eyes closed for a moment as though she was enjoying the wind on her face. She only spoke to give directions to her house. "The house here on the left is mine." She pointed out as they entered a small neighborhood. In the drive way was a black Honda Civic. "Mom's home."

"Well, I guess I will see you next week at the school." Haruka said as she pulled into the drive way.

"Actually, I was wondering if you are busy tomorrow. I have a few friends coming over tomorrow for my birthday and I was hoping maybe you could come over as well."

"I will try to but I can't promise anything."

"Well if you can come it would mean a lot to me."

"Eh, don't get ahead of yourself. I like you and all but I don't want you getting the wrong idea."

"No, I understand. I just like it when I'm around you."

Haruka ran her fingers through her blonde hair thinking to herself, wondering if she will regret the car ride with Michiru. Sure, she did like her but deep inside she could never get close to her as she always distances herself from everyone, even Blake at times.

"Well, Happy Birthday then, in case I don't make it. How old are you going to be now?"

"I'll be turning nineteen."

"Happy nineteenth birthday, Michiru." Haruka smiled as Michiru got out of the car.

"Thank you, it's alright if you don't come but the invitation is there. The car ride was nice as well."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. See you another day at college." Haruka waved as Michiru turned to walk away.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Upon arriving home Haruka found her father out to work and a note on the fridge:

_There's some leftovers in the fridge, enjoy._

_I put your new medicine on the kitchen table._

_See you when I get home._

_Love, Dad_

Inside the fridge was some leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes. As she heated it Haruka walked to the medication placed on the table by her father. She sat down quietly at the table and waited for the food to be heated. On the walls in the living room are several plaques and trophies from track when she was in high school. She remembered the day she broke the record in her high school at one of the meets. Then her eyes met the large piano in the corner and in her mind she could hear some songs she once played on it. Her train of thoughts were interrupted when the microwave went off. As she ate her dinner she began to debate on going to Michiru's birthday party.

Haruka continued debating going to Michiru's birthday party the next day and decided to call Blake.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey."

_"What's up Haruka?"_

"Michiru invited me to her birthday party today but I don't know if I should go or not, I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

_"Haruka why do you make things so complicated? Have you ever stopped to think about how many great girls you've missed out on because you don't want to risk anything?"_

"I've seen what love does to people, Blake. It always hurts them in the end and I don't want to be hurt."

_"So you want to be alone until you're forty and become a crazy cat lady or something whose only friends are her cats?"_

"Shut up, Blake. You know I don't like cats." Haruka laughed.

_"Either way if you don't take a chance one day you will regret it when you see her walking with someone else. Just go out, buy her a nice gift and surprise her. From the way you talk about her she probably doesn't even think you will show up. Hell, you could probably skip out on the gift and just show up. I think you showing up is a gift enough for her."_

"If this bites me in the ass I'll have your head on a pole."

_"Trust me, the way she looks at you I think you have a good opportunity with her. Take the risk and if it bites you in the ass I will serve mu head on a platter."_

"It's almost five, I'm already late and I really should come with a gift."

_"Then get your ass out of that damned house and find something! Or do I need to drag you out of there?"_

"Fine. I'll talk to you later."

_"Alright, good bye lover!" _Blake said mocking Haruka with kissing sounds as she hung up. Haruka rolled her eyes.

She had no idea what to get Michiru but decided she would wonder off to the mall. She tried to browse shops quickly while keeping her eye on the time. Just as she thought she would not find anything her eyes met a small glass dolphin in a candle shop. Michiru had always reminded her of the ocean for some reason and she found the dolphin to be perfect. She glanced at the time on her phone again it was almost 7:30. _'Damn.'_ She thought to herself as she purchased the dolphin and hurried out of the mall.

Haruka knocked on the door to Michiru's house. A few cars were still in her driveway. She had to park in the street so she would not block anyone in the drive way.

"Ooh, hello." An older woman answered the door. Haruka had no doubt in her mind it was Michiru's mother as they shared the same hair color. "You must be Haruka?" She asked with an accent. "The name is Japanese, is it not?"

"Yes ma'am, my father is from Japan." Haruka could hear some music playing from the living room.

"Ooh, lovely." The woman grinned. "Michi is in the living room with a few friends. Please, come in."

Haruka entered the small house and proceeded to the living room. Michiru was entertaining her friends with her violin. It was a site Haruka had never seen before as she watched the smaller girl dance around the room with her violin. In the back ground was a mix of a few melodies and some beats. Never once did it seem Michiru missed a note as she danced. The blonde stood silently in the entrance to the living room as she watched in awe. She had heard that Michiru was skilled with the violin but to combine it with a hip hop style dance was something unique.

Michiru spotted Haruka standing at the entrance to the living room and smiled as she danced up to her and finished the song. "I'm glad you made it but the party is almost over."

"Uuh yeah, I wasn't sure what to get you."

"You didn't have to get anything, you coming is good enough for me." Michiru turned back to a couple of her friends sitting around in the living room who were applauding her performance. There was also an older man there Haruka wondered if it was her father. He looked a little older than her mother. He has a short beard with dark brown hair with bits of grey scattered through both.

"I'm glad everyone came but now it's getting late. I don't want to rush you out or anything but my mother has an early morning." Michiru said politely. "There's plenty of cake left if you would like to take some home with you."

Haruka noticed one person from the college whom she shared a class with. The others she had not seen before. As they left a couple got some cake to take home and they wished her happy birthday. The older man that was sitting on the couch left as well which Haruka ruled out the idea it was her father.

**"I will clean up while Haruka stays for a bit." **Michiru's mother said in Japanese. Haruka thought it would be interesting if she kept it a secret that her father taught her Japanese as a child.

**"Thanks mom."**

"You know," Haruka started, "I knew you were skilled with the violin but I never knew you were that skilled. I know the violin is hard to play but to add dancing with it and not missing a note, now that's something else."

"I've always wanted to have a unique style, something that I've never seen anyone else do."

"Did you take dance lessons when you were younger?"

"No, actually, I watched videos online and learned from that."

"Self taught. Impressive. Hey, the talent show at the college is in a couple weeks. Have you registered for it?"

"Really, it's more of a hobby. I have other obligations that will prevent me from making a career out of it."

"That's a pity." Haruka stood silently still holding the gift. "Well, this is for you. I didn't really know what to get since I don't know you that well but I didn't want to come empty handed."

"Thank you." Michiru said as Haruka gave her the gift. "Oh, how did you know? You're good. I love anything from the ocean really." Michiru instinctively gave Haruka a hug but Haruka did not return it. Instead, she stood quietly until Michiru let go.

"Well, I feel bad for coming so late." Haruka coughed. "Why don't you let me take you to dinner tomorrow. Uh, don't get the idea it's a date or anything. It's simply a friendly gesture for missing your party."

Michiru was rubbing her chin again as though she was evaluating the notion. After a moment of thought she agreed to it. "What time should I be ready?"

"Say about five?"

"Five it is." Michiru smiled and led Haruka to the door.

"Think about that talent show. If you like I could help you prepare for it."

"I will. Good night Haruka and thanks for coming, even if you were late." Michiru teased.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Again, Haruka's father was out at work and she helped herself to the rest of the meatloaf. She sat at the dinner table holding her medicine bottle, tapping it lightly on the table. Her small dog, Benny, a shih tzu sat on the floor next to her. His tongue was hanging out the right side of his mouth as he wagged his tail. Haruka looked down at him.

"If this goes wrong I'm going to kill Blake." She said to the small dog and pat him on the head. "Come on Benny, let's go to bed." Haruka eyed the bottle of medicine before injecting it with a syringe. "I hate this shit." She cursed at the medicine. Benny followed her to the bathroom and then to her room. He took his usual spot by her side and they fell asleep.

_"Hello?"_ Blake answered the phone the next day.

"Hey."

_"Tell me something good Haruka or I'll hang up on you."_

"Define good."

_"Did you kiss her?"_

"Blake, a lady doesn't kiss and tell."

_"So you did!"_

"No. I ended up getting there at the end of her party."

_"Hanging up in 5…4…"_

"I invited her to dinner tonight to make up for being late."

_"Oh! A date! Progress! My little Haruka is growing up!" _Blake stopped his countdown to cutting off the conversation.

"You can be so annoying sometimes. Anyways, I told her it wasn' t a date although the way she thought about it almost seemed like she was trying to figure out if it is or not."

_"You are going to dress up right? How about that nice white tux you have, the one with the gold tie? I think that would look nice."_

"Blake! I'm perfectly fine dressing myself. How about I wear a nice dress? One that's strapless, you know, shows cleavage."

_"Do you even own a dress?"_

"Hell no."

_"I expect you to call me later and tell me how your 'date' goes."_ He said stressing the word 'date'.

"Just don't forget, it's your head on the line. Anyways, I need to get ready."

_"Oh, have fun and don't forget to give her a big…" _Click. Haruka knew he was about to start making the kiss noises again. After a few seconds she received a text from Blake.

"Bitch." To which she replied. "Whore."

Haruka dug through her closet to find the tuxedo Blake mentioned. Benny sat on her bed as she got dressed. "Benny, I'm not sure if this is a good idea." She said to the small dog as she put the tie on. The shih tzu cocked his head to the side as though trying to understand what she said. "Well, here goes." Haruka walked to the back door and opened it. The backyard was fenced in several years ago so Benny could run freely. Her dad put in a small doggy door on the outside door for Benny to go in out while they were gone.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka pulled into Michiru's driveway fifteen minutes before 5:00. She sat momentarily pondering on what Blake had been saying to her and trying to put everything together in her mind. Sure, after a while Michiru started to grow on her and she started to develop feelings for her even though she tried hard to push her away. _'It's not a date.'_ Haruka told herself again not sure if she could even listen to her own lie anymore. As Haruka approached the door to knock Michiru opened it.

"Oh, you look nice Michiru." Haruka gawked at the dress she wore. It matched her hair color perfectly and draped down just above her knees. The top part of it is comprised of spaghetti type straps. Haruka had to direct her eyes away from the small bit of cleavage it revealed

"Thank you. You clean up nicely too." Michiru giggled. "You look quite handsome."

"Right. Shall we go? Do you have any preferences for a restaurant?"

"Do you like seafood?"

Haruka could not help but chuckle at this decision; somehow she knew Michiru would suggest seafood. "Actually, I happened to make a reservation at The Ruby Lobster."

"You know me so well already it seems."

"Ah, don't get too excited. You just remind me of the ocean and you said you liked anything dealing with the ocean so I only figured…"

"You don't have to ramble on, Haruka." Michiru smiled as they walked to Haruka's car. Once again Haruka opened the door for her and closed it. This time she left the top up so not to mess up Michiru's hair in the wind.

"Ah Haruka, party of two. Please this way, sir." The host motioned for them to follow.

Michiru whispered to Haruka. "Why don't you say anything to correct him?"

"I gave that up years ago. Besides, I know I look like a guy sometimes and I honestly don't care anymore. I wear what I like. Besides, I have fun with my appearance sometimes." Haruka whispered back.

"Your waiter will be here momentarily. Enjoy your meal." The host smiled and left the two. He had placed them at a table near the back of the restaurant in a corner.

"I hate tables that are in the middle of the floor. I feel more comfortable here." Haruka crossed one leg over the other and pretended to straighten her tie unsure of what to say. "So, yeah, sorry for being late yesterday."

"I didn't even expect you to come by."

"Well, I'm full of surprises."

The waitress approached the two women and placed some menus down. "My name is Wendy and I'll be your waitress tonight. So, what can I get you to drink?"

"Unsweet tea please." Michiru responded.

"And for the gentleman?" The waitress turned to Haruka who winked back at Michiru.

"Water." The blonde replied.

"Do you have anything in mind on what you would like to eat? Appetizer or anything?" She continued.

"Ah, I'll need a minute." Haruka said as she picked up the menu and looked through it. The waitress went to get their drinks and Michiru sat quietly. "You can order anything you like, Michiru." She said in her usual deep voice. "Would you like an appetizer? It's your birthday pick what you want."

"I can't help but feel a bit guilty when people spend money on me."

Haruka set her menu down for Michiru to look at it. "Well, don't think of that." She pointed at a few items on the menu in an attempt to get Michiru to order. After a while Michiru finally found something she wanted. "Now, you didn't choose that because it's the least expensive did you? Choose what you want despite the cost."

"If you insist then." Michiru opened her own menu and found something after debating on a few choices.

As they waited for the food to be delivered Haruka asked her about the talent show again. "It's not big but at least it's fun. I didn't go last year but I heard Blake talk about it. Oh, Blake is a good friend of mine. I'll introduce you to him next time we're at the college."

"I would really like to do it. Maybe when you come to help me you can help me write a new song." Michiru sipped on her tea. "My dream was to always be a world famous violinist but I'm afraid I'll have to go into the family business one day."

"You said it's a hobby, why not do it on the side?"

"I'd love to but I'm not sure."

"Hm." Haruka mumbled eyeing Michiru as she drank some water. She found herself again averting her eyes from the cleavage of the aqua haired girl in front of her. "Did you also make the mix on the CD that was playing?"

"Yeah, adds a little something extra to it, don't you think?"

"I liked the whole performance."

"Hot plate coming through!" Their conversation was interrupted as the food was delivered.

They continued their conversation while eating. As much as Haruka wanted to push her feelings and Michiru away the more she learned about the goddess in front of her the more she began to feel a pull toward her. Even though she promised herself years ago she would not allow herself to get involved with someone any time soon she could not deny the feelings emerging. Sometime during dinner Haruka managed to slip the message unnoticed by Michiru to the waitress that it was her birthday. She got a laugh out of it as they came to sing to Michiru who seemed a bit embarrassed.

"I would give you some of this cake but you embarrassed me." The smaller girl ate a bite and made a face of 'this is the best cake ever'.

"Well it's your birthday so I thought I would have some fun." Haruka teased as she checked the time under the table and saw it was only about 6:30. She wanted to spend more time with Michiru and offered to take her to a movie which she gladly accepted. It was turning more into a date than Haruka intended but continued to lie to herself some more that it was merely a friendly gesture.

The cinema was built across the street from the restaurant in a large shopping center. They managed to find a decent movie to watch around 7:00. During the movie Michiru did try to make a small move on Haruka by trying to take her hand. Haruka politely took her hand back and placed it in her own lap smiling to the other girl while shaking her head. She wanted to make it clear yet again it was not a date. Michiru did not seem upset at all and nodded in understanding.

"Thank you for dinner and the movie, Haruka." They had arrived back at Michiru's house and Haruka had escorted her to the door.

"Happy birthday. When would you like me to come over so we can work on your talent show performance?" Haruka kept her distance as the two talked.

"Any day you want. Why don't you give me your number so we can figure out a good day and time?"

"Alright." Haruka continued to stay her distance as they exchanged numbers.

"Well thanks again. I guess I will see you in the morning at the gym then."

"Yeah." Haruka let out a sigh and betrayed herself as she let her guard down slightly. "See you tomorrow." She finished and approached Michiru to give her a kiss on the cheek smiling as she pulled back and walked away.

**xxxxxxxxx**

I Originally didn't intend for the first chapter to be so long. Anyways, this is my first story here so let me know what you think. I also plan to do a full revision on it. The story won't change but I'll add better descriptions. :D On a side note my favorite violinist is Lindsey Stirling and I used her style for inspiration on Michiru's performance.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Chapter 2

Each day Michiru continued to meet Haruka after her morning jog. They discuss a few ideas for the talent show Michiru is intending to play at. A few nights a week Haruka goes to her house and they compile a few ideas. Michiru's mom is generally busy with business and is away while they work together. Haruka has made no more advances on Michiru since the night she took her out for her birthday. As usual Blake pesters Haruka about the whole situation.

"Haruka, you've gone to her house how many times now?" Blake asks while tapping a pen on the table in front of him. He seems to be more annoyed over Haruka distancing herself from Michiru than anything else. The two sat at a table waiting for Michiru's final class to dismiss.

"I don't know, five times I guess."

"I'll never understand you. You have a pretty girl who is nuts about you and you just push her away and friendzone her."

"It's hard to explain, Blake." Haruka began to rub her forehead. "It's not that I don't want to it's just… nevermind." She avoided furthering her explanation as she thought of something in her past. "Anyways, I can't wait for you to see her performance at the talent show. She's wrote two new songs she's going to play and made a track for the background music."

Blake sat quietly, he's known for years that something has bothered Haruka when it comes to getting close to people, especially if the possibility of a relationship presents itself. "Well we have about another week before the show right? I'll make sure I have a front row seat for that beauty." He tried to show interest in Michiru to annoy Haruka.

"Hey!" Haruka socked him in the arm.

"So now I can't have fantasies?"

"That's just wrong, no Blake." She began to get a bit defensive.

"So you don't want to date her but you get defensive if someone else shows interest?" He wriggled his eye brows.

"I know what you're doing. Anyways her class is about to be out and she wanted to do a few final touches on her performance. She wants me to go with her to choose a new outfit."

Blake sat quietly with a grin. The thoughts in his mind were clear to Haruka. He was probably picturing Michiru in a skimpy outfit and asking Haruka to help her zip it up. "Hehehe, well don't have too much fun." His grin widened.

"Dare I even think of what you are picturing in your mind right now?"

"No but you're probably right whatever it is." He looked up to the ceiling and tapped his bottom lip as though continuing the fantasy.

"As long as you keep your thoughts to yourself then." Haruka slapped him in the arm again.

"I'm going to start getting a bruise if you keep hitting me there."

"Hey." The two were interrupted by Michiru who had approached them. Blake seemed a bit embarrassed not sure how long she had been there.

"Uh. Let's get going Michiru. Blake is feeling a bit sick right now." Haruka threw her bag over one shoulder and led Michiru to the car. As usual Michiru walked behind Haruka for her own entertainment.

**xxxxxxxxx**

"I'm not exactly sure what to wear." Michiru thumbed through some outfits in a shop at the mall. "I was thinking maybe something like a corset with a short skirt and some tight pants under it with some boots."

Haruka stood quietly trying to picture the image in her mind. "Will you be able to dance in boots? What kind of boots are you talking about exactly?"

"A pair that comes about midway to my calf muscle." Michiru pointed to the spot on her leg as she explained.

"Alright. So, you're going goth on me?" Haruka joked.

"I prefer to call it my own style, thank you very much." Michiru continued to look around the store.

"Hey I was just joking." Haruka said as she followed the shorter girl around that tossed a few pieces of clothing at Haruka to hold. The blonde observed each article of clothing thrown in her direction. "This should be interesting." She mumbled to herself as she continued to look at the clothes she was holding.

"Well I guess now I can put it together and see how it looks." Michiru said after she had picked out a few more random articles of clothing. "The boots will be easy to find here as well."

This particular clothing store ranged greatly on different styles. Rather than sticking to one section in particular Michiru combined a few different styles together to make her own unique style as well. After some time the two proceeded to the dressing room.

"Excuse me sir, no men allowed." The clerk said as Haruka went to follow Michiru through the main door to sit on the bench outside of the individual stalls.

Michiru was a bit flustered that people mistook Haruka for a male. "She has breasts, can't you see?"Haruka stood silently as Michiru took the clothes from her grasp and pointed at her chest.

"Uh I can wait outside if it will cause a problem." Haruka laughed off the awkward situation.

"Oh, excuse me ma'am." The clerk hid her face in embarrassment. "Please continue." She mumbled in her hands.

Michiru stormed into the first open stall and Haruka sat on the bench silently as her friend put an outfit together.

After some time Michiru spoke. "Haruka, would you help me tighten this? I can't reach the back." Michiru called from behind the door.

"Uh, sure." Haruka felt a bit nervous not sure what Michiru was wearing at the moment. The door opened and the shorter girl stood wearing tight, dark blue pants striped with a lighter blue. The laces on the white corset nearly matched the lighter blue color on the pants perfectly. Haruka almost mistook the miniskirt for black at first but at a closer glance was a dark blue. Michiru turned for Haruka to tighten the laces on the corset. She gazed at Michiru's perfect skin as she tightened it allowing her fingers to brush her back momentarily before she finished.

"All I need is to find a dark blue bow or something for my hair now. What do you think?" The aqua haired girl turned to Haruka. "Are you listening Haruka?"

"What?" Haruka quickly looked away from Michiru's now more shaped chest.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"A bow, yeah." Haruka blushed and stepped back to add some distance between them.

"And some boots." Michiru turned a couple times in the mirror as she observed her reflection. "Hmm maybe I could lay a scarf over my shoulders." She continued thinking out loud.

"You look nice." Haruka continued to blush and stepped outside to close the door.

"Wait, I need you to untie it now." The tone in Michiru's voice was a bit flirty now.

Haruka wanted to facepalm as Michiru flirted with her. She would not admit that she liked it when her short friend flirted with her and sometimes she would flirt back. In her mind a few naughty remarks played that she wanted to say in response to untying Michiru's clothes but she withheld. Again she could not help but to touch her back lightly with the tips of her fingers after she loosened the laces. An old memory replayed in Haruka's mind and she withdrew her hand quickly and stepped outside for Michiru to change.

As Haruka sat on the bench she tried to push her awful memory out of her mind while she waited for her friend finish. For years this memory has plagued her and the best she has ever done is push it aside. She propped her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands as she remembered the voice from her past. _'If you tell anyone I will fucking kill you.'_ A phrase she would never forget. It took all her strength to not cry as she remembered the frightening words.

"Are you alright, Haruka?" She had not noticed Michiru had come out of the changing room. Michiru placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm fine. So let's get those boots now, yeah?" Haruka looked up faking her best smile. Only a fool would believe her but Michiru did not press any further. It had become clear to her when they first became friends that something bothered Haruka. As Haruka stood to turn Michiru noticed a single tear fall down her cheek.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru completed her outfit and was more than satisfied with the outcome. Haruka approved of it as well. The day was still young as they arrived at Michiru's house. The winter weather had just started to blow in which now forced Haruka to drive with the top up on her convertible. The black Honda Civic was gone and Haruka had determined Michiru's mother was out. Inside the girls prepared the last final touches on the performance.

"You're really going to amaze them." Haruka applauded Michiru from the couch.

"I hope so."

"No hoping, you definitely will." Haruka continued to cheer her on.

Michiru sat next to Haruka before speaking. "My father played the violin. I picked it up from him. He taught me some and then took me to some classes when I was young." The tone in her voice was sad as she talked about him for the first time. "He didn't play often but when he did I would just sit and listen to him. I could listen for hours."

Haruka wanted to ask her more about her father but always considered it a bit rude to ask especially if it seemed they had passed away.

"Well…" Michiru paused. "I haven't heard him play in six years. There was a work related accident back in Japan and he never made it home."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Haruka was never good with situations like this.

"When I play I remember him and all the good times the three of us had together." Michiru smiled.

"I see." Haruka felt a bit awkward and completely unsure of what to say. "Well he would be proud of you I'm sure."

"I hope so."

For the first time in years Haruka felt like she could open to someone. She never told anyone about her personal life. Even Blake knew little about her other than them hanging out on occasions and acting like fools together.

Still unsure of what to say Haruka opened up a bit. "I never knew my mother." She ran a hand through her sandy blonde hair. "She died during childbirth." Haruka sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Michiru put her hand on Haruka's shoulder to comfort her.

"Yeah. I just wish I had a picture of her. The house burned down when I was only a few days old and took everything, I never knew what she looked like."

The two sat quietly on the couch for a moment without words. No one had ever shared things like this with Haruka before nor had she ever shared the same things with others. It was nice to finally feel like she may be able to trust someone. She could feel the gaze of her aqua haired friend upon her as she stared at the center of the room.

"But that's life right?" Haruka turned to Michiru and smiled.

"It is.' Make the best of everything' I always say." The shorter girl placed her hand on Haruka's cheek. Haruka could feel the tension between them that had been building since the night she took her out for her birthday. The feeling was comforting and when Haruka saw Michiru coming closer to kiss her she placed her finger on the lips of her friend and shook her head.

"Michiru," She whispered. "I really like you but I'm not ready for anything more than a friendship right now. It feels nice when I'm around you and I look forward to seeing you when I can. This isn't a rejection and I hope you don't get upset."

Michiru pulled back from Haruka's finger that was still covering her lips. "No, I'm not upset. It's just hard sometimes when we are together. Don't forget though, patience is my best quality and I know you are worth waiting for. I can tell something bothers you so I won't push anything anymore."

"I'm glad you understand." Haruka could not help but feel a few butterflies in her stomach knowing how understanding Michiru was. She hoped one day she would be able to tell her what pains her. "Well, the talent show is in three days." The blonde diverted the conversation quickly.

"I've never played for more than a few people before." Michiru admitted. "Not that I have stage fright or anything. I love to be in front of people and play for them."

"I think you're ready to take on the world." Haruka winked at her.

"Oh I don't know about that."

"Well," The blonde looked at the time on her phone. "I have to go, it's getting a little late and I have to be up for my morning jog tomorrow."  
"And I have to be up to watch you!" Michiru smiled with her eyes closed.

"Three more days." Haruka reminded her as they walked to the door. Before she left the blonde turned and reached for Michiru's hand. Their eyes met as Haruka brought her hand to her lips and kissed the back of it. "Goodnight." She said as she released the petite hand.

"Goodnight, Haruka."

**xxxxxxxxx**

Finally the day of the talent show had approached. Haruka and Blake had both managed to get a front seat for the show. They arrived early which gave Blake time to pester Haruka about her relationship with Michiru.

"You mean she tried to kiss you and you rejected it!" Blake's jaw had nearly dropped to the ground. "You know what I would do to have a beautiful girl like that all over me?"

"I'm not ready, Blake."

"What bothers you so much that you can't take the chance?"

"That's very personal to me." She shot a warning glance at him.

"Yeah, alright. Well, I hope you will be able to give her a chance unlike all the other girls."

"I know I will be able to give her a chance one day." Haruka smiled. "Something about her is just so genuine. Besides, maybe you should be looking for a girl and stop worrying about me."

Blake sighed at the comment. "All in due time."

The theater began to get crowded and after a while the show began. Most of the performances were sleep worthy. A few people sang, others danced, some poor fool made a mockery out of himself when he failed at a few magic tricks. Finally, Michiru was next. Haruka and Blake both gave her a thumbs up with huge grins. A few guys in the back of the audience whistled at her which really pissed off Haruka.

The lights turned to a blue color to match her outfit. The violin she had in her hands now was an electric one, Haruka had not seen her play this one before. Michiru smiled to the audience and the track she and Haruka had made together played. She stood still at first as she plucked a few strings. The entire crowd was silent as the violin took over. It was, indeed, something they had never seen before. As the track picked up Michiru began to dance. The surprise from the audience was clear as they began to applaud. She played the song beautifully without missing the note and dancing quickly over the entire stage. The song ended and the crowd continued to clap.

"Thank you." Michiru approached the microphone after she finished the first song slightly out of breath. "I call that song 'Submerge in the Deep'. A very dear friend of mine helped with it." Her eyes were staring straight in Haruka's eyes as she talked. "I have one more song to play, I hope you enjoy it." She stepped back and bowed to the crowd.

To Haruka's surprise it was a song she had not heard before. She listened closely as Michiru played the song. Words cannot describe the feeling the song seemed to convey to the audience. It was mysterious and a bit sad in parts but had upbeat areas as well. When the second song ended the audience demanded another one as Michiru bowed and walked off the stage.

"Why don't you give them one more song? Do you have another track on the CD?" One of the girls that was helping with the talent show urged Michiru backstage.

"Yeah, I do. Play track number 9 please." Michiru smiled. The feeling was incredible to hear strangers cheer her on. As she went back on stage she approached the microphone once again. A few hoops and hollers could be heard from the back by some admiring guys when she came back on stage.

"I suppose I can do one more. The last song I just recently wrote. I call it 'Symphony to the Wind' and the next song is 'Moon Princess'." She stood back from the microphone and played. Haruka remembered this song; it was one of Michiru's original songs she had written before she met Haruka. After she had finished with her final song the audience was still excited. Michiru thanked them again bowing before she went backstage. One of the professors was ecstatic.

"That was really something! Out of all my years watching this talent show I have never seen anything more unique than what you just did. I do hope you will take your talent to the next stage. The world should hear your music and witness you on stage." The professor motioned with her hands as she talked.

"It's always been my dream." Michiru closed her eyes imagining standing in front of a sold out concert with fans chanting her name.

"Yo." Haruka had managed to get backstage.

"How was it, Haruka?" Michiru jumped with joy.

"Amazing, as always." The taller girl commended her.

"Haruka, make sure she continues and makes a career out of her music." The professor said with a commanding voice before she disappeared to finish helping with the talent show.

"Will do! Are you ready to go home, Michiru?"

"Yeah, I really had fun. I didn't expect to get that sort of reaction though."

"Just imagine when it's more than about one hundred people. Imagine thousands all there to hear you perform." Haruka waved her hand in front of the two as though she was painting the picture in front of them.

"Yeah." Michiru gasped.

"Well, let's get you home then."

**xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka helped Michiru get her things into her house and as usual they ended their conversation on Michiru's doorstep.

"Are you going to do it?" Haruka asked.

"Do what?"

"Take your music to the next level?"

"I want to, I've always wanted to… but…" Michiru grew silent for a moment. "I have to go into the family business." She sighed deeply. "It's only a hobby. Yeah, I loved every moment on the stage. But I have predetermined obligations I need to fulfill."

"What sort of business is it?"

Michiru continued to stand quietly and avoided the question all together. "Thanks for taking me home. I really appreciate everything you do for me. I should get ready for bed now. Goodnight, Haruka." Michiru turned to go inside only to be stopped by Haruka grasping her hand.

"Wait."

"Yes?" Michiru turned to Haruka and was taken by surprise when their lips finally met. Haruka tried her best to resist it but her feelings for Michiru took over. The passion between the two finally ignited as they shared their first kiss. Haruka wrapped her arms around the smaller girl as the kiss deepened. The way Michiru made her felt was unlike anything else. The blonde slowly pulled back and looked into the blue eyes of the girl in front of her. She placed her hand on the cheek of her shorter friend and brushed some of the aqua colored hair back.

"I'll try soon to explain things to you, Michi." She whispered and kissed her lightly. "I'm trying my best to open to you and I'm glad you are patient with me." She continued to talk between a few kisses. "I just need time."

"I'm not going anywhere, Haruka." Michiru reached up and placed her hand onto Haruka's cheek.

"I'm not yet ready to be more than friends. I just couldn't hold back my feelings anymore." She placed her hand over Michiru's.

"I understand."

"I feel bad for making you wait." Haruka continued to whisper in her husky voice.

"Don't."

They continued to gaze into each other eyes for a moment. Michiru leaned up to give Haruka one last kiss before they departed.

"Goodnight, Michi." Haruka took her hand as usual and kissed the back of it with a smile before she left.

"Goodnight, Ruka."

**xxxxxxxxx**

"Hey, Michiru!" A voice called to her from down the hallway in the college. Blake approached Michiru making sure Haruka was nowhere in sight. "Haruka's birthday is this coming Sunday." He continued to act suspiciously as he eyed the hallway for any signs of the tall blonde girl. "Why don't you show up at her house and surprise her!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"She'll love it! Come on, let me take you there!" He pleaded with her for a minute.

"If you think she'll like it then, well, alright!"

"Good, good!" He rubbed his hands together as though his plan would work out perfectly. "Where do you live so I can pick you up?"

"I live off of Harvest Trace."

"Oh, I know exactly where that is. What's the house number? I'll get you around what? 3:00 a good time for you?"

"Yeah, that's fine. The house number is 158, it's on the left."

"Alright, don't tell her! Just surprise her!" Blake grinned evily.

"Hey guys." Haruka interrupted the conversation before it could go any further as she jogged up to the two.

"Uh, yeah, violins and music and shit." Blake ran off quickly before Haruka could interrogate him.

"What's up with Blake?" Haruka observed as he darted around a corner.

"Uh, he's an odd one."

"That's what makes us such good friends. He's weird."

"Does that mean you think I'm weird, Ms. Tenoh?" Michiru eyed Haruka.

"Uh, no no no!" She seemed to panic at her remark.

"I'm just kidding!"

Haruka breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, hey, winter break is coming up soon you got any plans?"

"I was going to help my mom out a bit with the business but I always have time if you want to do anything."

"I don't want to burden you if you are going to be helping your mother."

"Oh, don't worry, it's fine."

The two proceeded to Haruka's car as they continued their conversation. The semester was almost at an end and they would be able to breathe a sigh of relief after all the exams were done. Only a couple more days left before vacation.

**xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka and her father sat watching one of their favorite TV shows that had recently been recorded to their system. Her small dog sat next to her on the couch sleeping.

"Haruka, how have you been feeling lately?" Her father asked while he fast forwarded through a commercial. "Do you need any more medicine?"

"I still have about a week's worth left."

"Alright, well I have to go to work right after we finish watching this. Looks like that was the last set of commercials."

They watched the remaining five minutes of the show and as the show ended Benny's ears perked up and he ran to the front door barking.

"I wonder who that could be." Haruka went to answer the door. Michiru stood at the door and in the background Haruka saw Blake's car speeding away quickly. She shook her head; Blake was still attempting to hook them up even after Haruka told him she was still not ready.

"Hi, Haruka." Michiru grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey Michi, come in, it's cold outside."

"Oh! What a nice house!" The shorter girl peered around at the two story house. "Aww! What a cute puppy!" She bent down to pet the small Shih Tzu. His tongue was hanging out the right side of his mouth as usual.

"That's Benny. So, what brings you here?"

"Oh well, Blake had mentioned something about me coming over to surprise you today."

"Well, I'm definitely surprised." Haruka took Michiru's jacket and hung it up in the coat closet. "I, uh, wasn't expecting anyone to come over." The blonde looked down at her pajama pants and pulled the bottom of the tank top down to cover her exposed stomach.

"Oh, I don't care what you're wearing!"

Haruka's father walked up to the two girls while they chatted a bit. "You must be Michiru. Haruka's told me a lot about you. I hear you're very skilled with the violin." He motioned with his hands as though playing a violin in the air. "Maybe one day I can hear you play." He smiled. "I have to get going to work now. You girls behave." He looked at Haruka playfully as though insinuating something.

As he left Michiru turned to Haruka. "I kind of get the feeling now Blake set us up."

"What do you mean?"

"When's your birthday?"

"Not for another couple months. Why?"

Michiru let out a laugh. "Oh, he's a sneaky one!" She shook her fist at the door. "He said today was your birthday and I should surprise you."

"Did he?" Haruka raised a brow.

"Yeah, now I feel like an idiot."

"Oh no, don't worry. He's been playing this game for the last two months."

"Then I'll just pretend it's your birthday then!" Michiru handed Haruka a homemade card.

Inside were a few cute little anime drawings she doodled around in it. One was of Haruka when they were shopping for her outfit for the talent show. She drew Haruka holding the clothes she had thrown at her. The next one was where the woman had mistaken Haruka for a man. It showed Michiru arguing with the woman and Haruka with a sweatdrop above her head. Haruka chuckled under her breath at it.

"Well, make sure you hold onto the card. There's more to it than meets the eye. You'll figure it out, I'm sure."

"You know, maybe I should get changed I feel weird with you here and I'm in my pajamas as though I've done nothing all day. Make yourself at home." Haruka ran off to her room to change her pants. She took another look at the doodles Michiru had made in the card before placing it on her dresser. When she arrived back in the living room Benny was entertaining Michiru with one of his stuffed animals.

"He's so cute!" Michiru exclaimed. "Look at his little browns spots! And his fur is so soft." She said as she pet him.

"I don't know what I would do without him." Haruka knelt down to pat him on the head. He barked playfully and ran around. "I'm not good at entertaining guests. I really never have anyone come over to be honest. Are you hungry?"

"Just a bit, yeah."

"So, what do you want to eat?" Haruka walked into the kitchen and looked around for something to make.

"Ahem, you're the birthday girl, I'll cook something."

"It's not my birthday though."

"Small details." Michiru pushed her away from the fridge.

"Alright, what are you going to cook me then?"

"Uhm well, what do you want?"

"There's some steaks in there. How about some steak with mashed potatoes and a nice salad?"

"Uhm well, I've actually never really cooked steak before."

"It's simple, I'll guide you."

"Alright but you're not touching anything, birthday girl."

After a few minor mishaps which included setting a dish towel on fire, pieces of potatoes splattering all over the wall, and a slightly undercooked steak; Michiru was relieved when it came to making the salad. Haruka stood back and watched as her friend attempted her best at preparing a meal for them.

"Next time I'll do the cooking." Haruka said while she tried to put out the dish towel that had somehow managed to catch fire on the stove again as Michiru prepared the salad. "I've never seen anyone set a dish towel on fire while making a salad."

"First time for everything! I'm sorry about the dish towel." Michiru looked at what remained of the rag.

"And the last time." Haruka joked as she dropped the piece of the rag into the trash can. "Can I at least set the table? I kind of like the plates, uh, not in pieces." Michiru ignored her remark as she finished the last touches on the salad.

Finally they sat down at the table. Despite the disaster in the kitchen it actually looked rather delicious. Haruka dug into the salad first, her favorite. Then she eyed the steak and poked at it a few times a little unsure about it at first. She bit into it after a while.

"Hey, the steak is pretty good." She chewed it. "Little undercooked but that's how I like it. Maybe I'm a vampire!" She joked.

Michiru looked up quickly. "I hate vampires. So you're obviously not one." She tried to change her tone to a joke.

"Ah well, and I hate werewolves." Haruka played along with her. To both of the girls' surprise the meal was not a total disaster.

"Ah, no!" Michiru took Haruka's plate from her as she went to wash it. "Birthday girls don't clean the mess. I'll clean."

The blonde girl leaned against one of the counter tops as Michiru cleaned her mess, and what a large mess it was. As she watched her friend clean the potatoes off the wall that had spun out of the bowl she realized just how much she was finally warming up to her. Maybe she had finally managed to push away her troublesome past and allow someone into her life. Once she had kissed Michiru it seemed like everything was easier. Sure, that kiss had been nearly a week ago and neither had made any more attempts after that, it really felt nice to have her around. As Michiru cleaned the last bit of potatoes off the wall she turned to Haruka who seemed to be in another world.

"Do you have any good movies?" The smaller girl asked. "Haruka, hello?"

"Oh, what?" Haruka had to snap back to reality.

"Let's watch a movie."

"Any preferences?"

"Anything is fine with me."

Haruka looked through the movie collection for a minute not able to decide. "I'm really not good at entertaining guests. Why don't you pick something?" She stood after a while and motioned for Michiru to look. She chose a movie from the early 90's and sat down on the couch next to Haruka. The small dog laid in his bed in the corner as they watched the movie.

Haruka could not even concentrate on the movie. She continued her thoughts from when she stood in the kitchen. While she remembered her haunting past Michiru had moved closer to her. Haruka welcomed her and allowed her to lay her head on her lap all the while she decided she would finally tell Michiru what troubled her. She could feel a knot in her throat as she was finally ready to come face to face with a reality she tried to forget years ago. Maybe, by finally telling someone she would be able to let it go and move on, yes, that had to be it.

Haruka looked down at Michiru on her lap as her friend watched the movie. She ran her fingers through her hair lightly and when the credits finally started to roll she spoke in her deep voice.

"Michiru, there's something I need to tell you."

Michiru's blue eyes met Haruka's green eyes when she spoke. "Is something wrong, Haruka?"

"No but I need to tell you about what bothers me, and has bothered me since high school." Haruka sighed wondering if she would be able to make it through the whole story.

"Alright." Michiru's voice showed concern as she sat up from Haruka's lap.

Before Haruka could even begin she could feel some tears roll down her face. Her friend tried to wipe them but she stopped her. She remembered every detail of what happened on the night that left its mark on her soul as she spoke slowly.

_Flashback_

_It was four years ago, I was fifteen. I was still in that stage of denial and unable to accept my own sexuality. That's the hardest part and a lot of people don't realize it. Well, I was actually dating a guy at the time he was two years older than me. In all honesty the whole thing made me miserable. Back then I had longer hair and usually wore it in a ponytail. There was a track meet and afterwards he, Justin, was going to take me home. I had been debating on just breaking things off with him. I grew to hate him the more I was around him. Instead of taking me home he took me somewhere else. I didn't realize what was going on until it was too late. He was so much stronger than me. We arrived at a beat up old motel. You can probably see where this is going. He covered my mouth and dragged me into a room he had. It was too dark to really see what was in the room at the time. I just remember him throwing me onto a bed. At that point I knew what he was going to do. I tried to get up but he only pushed me back down. My struggle was useless and I soon found my hands were tied to the headboard. He had gagged me so I couldn't scream. I was so frightened, I knew what he was going to do but I wasn't sure if I would even make it out alive. He stripped my clothes off of me and forced himself on me. I tried to scream but nothing escaped my mouth from it being gagged. I passed out from the shock and fear sometime while he had his way with me. When I finally woke up the lights were on and he was sitting at a small table. He had drugs scattered all over the table and was shooting something in his arm. Then he looked at me. It didn't even seem like he was human he was so stoned out of his mind. I will never forget what he said to me then. He stood over my exposed body and told me to get dressed. Then looked deeper into my eyes and said 'If you tell anyone I will fucking kill you'. As I got dressed he ran his hands on my body telling me that I was the best fuck he'd ever had. I was surprised when he actually took me home and there he threatened me again. I was so scared and I decided I was never going to tell anyone. Well, he got arrested on his way home. He blew pass a stop sign and was pulled over. The police officer realized something was wrong with him and found drugs in his possession. _

_End Flash back_

Haruka covered her face in shame as she finished the story and sobbed into her hands. It was the memory that had plagued her for four to nearly five years now. This was the reason she had never let herself get close to anyone. After that night she distanced herself from everyone. Benny had come up to Haruka. He stood up with his paws on her knees. The small dog always sensed when Haruka was upset and would approach her.

"Har…Haruka." Michiru whispered.

"I'm sorry, Michiru." She managed to say between her sobs. "This is the reason I'm not ready for a commitment. I want to be with you, but I just can't let go of that incident." She felt Michiru embrace her and try to calm her down. "I've never told anyone until now. Even Blake doesn't know or my father." Haruka dropped her hands from her face and cried into Michiru's chest. "Blake has speculated for years. He knew something happened because after that day I was never the same person. I cut my hair and changed everything about myself. I never wanted to be caught in that position again."

"You're strong now, Ruka." Michiru continued whispering in her ear. "I'm sorry for when I was being persistent with you."

Haruka looked up into Michiru's eyes. "No, you don't need to be sorry. You have no idea how much you've helped me." Michiru wiped away some of the tears on Haruka's face. "If it wasn't for your persistence I'd probably continue living as I have. Blake was the one that told me I needed more friends after I told him you kept approaching me before class. He's always been a good friend."

"Even if he lies to me to get me over here?" Michiru joked sarcastically.

"Yes. But I'm glad. I've had that weight on my chest for so long now it feels so nice to finally get rid of it." Haruka finally smiled and pulled out of the embrace. "I need to wash my face."

Benny followed her to the bathroom. Inside the bathroom Haruka stared at her reflection in the mirror. She realized she was finally not the scared fifteen year old anymore. Now she could finally begin to take back full control of her life. She wet a wash cloth and cleaned her face. Today she will finally move forward and put the past behind her.

**xxxxxxxxx**

I'm not sure how fast I will be able to update the story but I'll try my best to get what I can quickly. I have a lot of chapters hand written already and I'm just in the process of typing them up. Hope you guys enjoy and remember to please keep spoilers out of the reviews. I have lot's of ideas for the story.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

I guess I should say that you need to keep an open mind when you read this. The vampires are different from what most people are used to but eventually a lot of questions will be answered. I love foreshadowing which may lead to minor details being over looked. This is my first story so I'm trying my best to present it the best I can.

**Chapter 3**

For Haruka it felt as though she had finally closed a chapter in her life when she was able to share what happened to her with someone else. Benny had jumped on the toilet as she cleaned her face and took a few minutes alone. She turned to the little dog and smiled while she picked him up to head to the living room. Michiru had spread out on the couch and was resting. The clock above the TV read 10:30. College may have ended for the time being but it was getting late.

Haruka placed Benny on the floor as she knelt down next to the couch where the sleeping beauty was. "Michi, it's late. I think I should take you home." She whispered as she brushed the back of her hand on Michiru's face. The aqua haired girl continued to lie quietly on the couch. "Michi." Haruka whispered again in her deep voice and kissed her cheek.

"Oh, Haruka." The girl opened her eyes from the couch.

"It's late. I'm going to get something warmer to wear to take you home."

"Alright." Michiru sat up and stretched.

Haruka went to her room followed by her dog as usual. She put a long sleeve shirt on over her tank top followed by a jacket and a scarf. After tying her favorite pair of boots she proceeded to the living room. Michiru stood at one of the windows gazing outside.

"It's snowing." She said from the window.

Haruka walked up next to her to peer out as well. It looked as though it had been snowing for the past couple hours while they watched the movie. The ground had been covered in a blanket of snow quickly.

"We should hurry before it picks up again."

"Yeah, let's hurry."

Outside the air was chilling. Virgin snow covered the yard and driveway. The two girls shivered as they proceeded to the Mustang. Haruka opened the door for Michiru as she usually did went to the driver's side. She turned the key in the ignition a couple times before it started then it died.

"I really need to work on this thing. It's just been so cold lately I haven't done it." Haruka said as she turned the key over a few more times. The car started up again and she pressed on the gas. "It should be fine now."

The roads had been cleared of ice and snow as she drove to Michiru's house. She drove slowly so as to not hit any black ice on the journey. Michiru looked out the window the entire drive home. Haruka pulled up next to the black car parked in the driveway and led Michiru to her door.

"Be careful on your way home, okay?"

"I'm always careful." Haruka replied with a cocky attitude. "Don't worry." She talked from under the scarf that was tight around her nose and lips.

"I'm serious, Haruka."

"I know." The blonde pulled her scarf down below her mouth to place a kiss on Michiru's lips. "I'll see you sometime soon." She said and pulled the scarf back up.

"Alright, see you." Michiru said with a smile.

Haruka turned to her car and her phone chimed for a text message. She gazed down at it. Her father had texted her, he needed milk for the morning. Haruka chuckled to herself as she remembered the cooking incident in the kitchen. Michiru had used the rest of the milk in the mashed potatoes. She waved to Michiru from her car and proceeded to the nearest gas station.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka woke suddenly from a bad dream. "What the hell was that?" She sat up in bed and looked at the time. It was just a little bit after 8am. The dream was strange but it seemed so real. Benny was still lying down next to her. She remembered the dream slowly.

It was dark and cold. Her car had stalled at a four-way intersection. She had to go work on the engine quickly to get it to work. Then a strange man came out of the forest. The fear seemed so real though but it was impossible. Was he a vampire? She continued to think about the dream. Her thoughts went back to when she dropped Michiru off that was definitely real. But the rest of the night made no sense. Haruka could not even remember when she arrived home. She shook off the nightmare and proceeded to the bathroom.

Her reflection stared back at her. The mirrored image looked a bit ill, maybe a combination of crying and a bad nightmare. Had she also forgot to take her medication? She could not remember anything pass dropping off Michiru at her house.

"What's that?" Haruka leaned closer to the mirror as she questioned the reflection. She looked closely at her neck to find a bruise. "That's odd." There were no puncture marks or anything on her neck just a simple bruise. She remembered something she read once about people who have vivid dreams and sometimes wake with strange marks on their body. "That's got to be it." She tried to laugh off the dream.

"Morning." Her father stood in the kitchen sipping on his coffee.

"Morning." Haruka proceeded to find something to eat in the kitchen.

"Everything alright, dear?" He asked her as he sat to watch the news.

"Yeah, everything is great." Haruka felt like a new person now after last night.

She decided on some cereal and sat on the second couch in the living room. On TV were various reports of a few accidents that happened due to the snowstorm that blew thru last night. The storm had only lasted a few hours but had brought a couple of inches of snow during the course of it.

Later during the day Blake called her.

_"Haruka!" He exclaimed from his end. "Let's go to the park and play in the snow! You know, like we used to when we were kids!"_

"Oh, we haven't done that in years."

_"Come on! It'll be fun! Hey, why don't you invite your girl?"_

"She's just a friend. Although, I suppose it would be fun."  
_"Hey, what are you doing for Christmas?" His toned changed a bit._

"Same ol' I guess." Haruka replied. Blake had always spent Christmas with Haruka and her father. He had never got along with his parents and now lived alone in a small one bedroom apartment. He worked hard to pay for his apartment and other bills and did his best to attend college and make something of his life.

_"Why don't you and Michiru come to my apartment for Christmas? I know I don't have the best living space but I haven't had anyone over since I've lived here. It'd be nice to have some friends over."_

"That sounds like a plan. I'll have to call Michiru and see what she thinks. I'll just text you after we talk."

_"Alright!"_

Haruka hung up and called Michiru.

_"Hello?" Michiru answered._

"Good morning! You doing anything today?"

_"No, I was just mixing a few things on a CD."_

"Blake wants to know if you'd like to join us at the park. We used to go as kids and play in the snow. Would you like to come?"

_"Sure, I love the snow. I can start getting ready now."_

"Awesome, I'll let him know and I'll head over to get you soon."

_"I can't wait."_

The conversation ended and Haruka sent Blake a text to know it was a go for the park.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The snow had stopped falling for the time being and the park was shrouded in a white blanket. A few children laughed as they played in the snow. The park was the largest in the town and sat in the middle of a huge forest. It played host to many games during the summer. The fields were used for soccer games as well as baseball and softball games. A large building sat off to the side of the park which was home to the YMCA. Many wilderness trails weaved through the park.

"My father used to take Blake and me here when we were kids." As Haruka talked her warm breath blew through the air. They had found a place to wait for Blake under a gazebo. The day was not quite as cold as the previous night was. "Lots of fun memories here for us." Haruka was quiet as she remembered a few childhood memories.

Michiru studied Haruka as she sat silently. It seemed that she had regained a lost confidence after confiding her deepest, darkest secret with Michiru. Haruka also looked a bit different with the bags under her eyes from crying the night before.

The scene was interrupted when Haruka was clocked in the back by a snowball. She turned to see Blake running for his life. "You little bitch!" She ran from the gazebo leaving Michiru in a fit of laughter.

"Ahahaha!" Blake laughed and dove behind a tree as Haruka hurled a poorly made snowball at him. She bent down to make a better snowball more carefully and waited for her adversary to reappear.

"Can't catch me!" He tried to run to another tree but was caught in the left ass cheek by a hard snowball. "Damn Haruka! That fuckin' hurt!" He fell to the ground and sprawled out. "Watch how hard you throw that shit!"

She approached Blake that was now rubbing his sore area. "That's for attacking me with surprise." Haruka cackled loudly at her quick victory.

"I'm going to have a bruise there now!" He continued to rub where the snowball had pelted him.

Haruka was caught off guard again as a snowball hit her in the arm. She turned quickly to see Michiru laughing manically with a second snowball ready. The aqua haired girl hurled the snowball at Haruka who easily dodged it. Michiru quickly tried to make another snowball before Haruka could react. The blonde easily dodged the third chunk of snow Michiru threw at her as she made a new one herself. She readied her strike against Michiru whom was now running away but was interrupted as she was pelted in the back of the leg by a projectile that had been thrown from Blake again.

"Yeah!" He threw his hands in the air as though he had won this round only to find a snowball strike him on the hip. "Ow, geez! Haruka!" He began to rub his new sore spot.

As though a sixth sense told Haruka to step to the side slightly to the right she did so to watch a flying ball of white fluff speed past her.

"Oh, you're good." Michiru was upset her perfectly aimed snowball failed to hit its intended target.

"I guess it's pick on Haruka day." Haruka said as she put her hands in her pockets coolly. She dodged a few more snowballs thrown from both of her friends with ease. After a while Blake gave up and decided he would make a snow angel, or as he liked to call it, a snow demon; he would complete it with horns on the top of the head every time.

Michiru laughed at Blake's snow demon. She had not had this much fun in years, not since her father had died. "Leave it to a guy to make a snow demon!"

"Aw, come on. I gotta keep my masculinity somehow." He flexed his arm a bit.

Haruka threw one final snowball at Blake that stung him in the back. "That's for lying to Michiru about my birthday!" She joked as Blake cursed her again.

"Oh, come on. You had fun right?" He grinned but neither of the girls were smiling. "Right?" He seemed a bit nervous now as they stood glaring at him. "Uh, heh heh." He scratched the back of his head.

Haruka wrapped her arm around Michiru's shoulder. "Yeah we had fun." They both smiled.

"Good good! So, what about Christmas?" He asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that earlier." Haruka let go of Michiru's shoulder. "Would you like to come to Blake's apartment for Christmas?" She asked the shorter girl.

"I'm sure my mother won't mind. She'll probably be busy anyways."

"Awesome!" Blake was excited.

The three walked around the park for a while talking about college, the talent show, and the plans for Christmas. As the day progressed Haruka felt her mouth get sore after a while. Almost like wisdom teeth were coming in on the front of her mouth. She looked in a mirror but saw nothing unusual. Unsure of the pain she decided to just keep it to herself for the time being, no need to worry either of her friends.

The next couple of weeks went by quickly and Haruka was able to work on her car during that time. The three enjoyed Christmas together at Blake's small apartment. His apartment was mostly bare with only a bed and a small TV with an old game system he had as a kid. Haruka knew of his hardships and wished she could do something for him but he was too proud of himself to take anything from her.

Each day that progressed Haruka felt a strange hunger begin to overcome her. She was unsure of how to satisfy it as she tried to eat different sorts of foods. The new semester was about to start up and Haruka began to mentally prepare herself. Practice for track was going to begin and the season would start once the weather began to warm up a bit.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka began her morning jog at college as usual. She waved at Michiru who waited for her to finish. As she ran she felt like she could run for hours so she picked up the pace a bit. It surprised her while she went faster and harder her body did not grow a bit tired. After the run she took her morning shower and caught up with Michiru.

"Are you feeling alright, Haruka?" Michiru observed the blonde girl who seemed to look a bit ill. Haruka had allowed Michiru to hold onto her arm as they walked through the hallways.

"I'm fine, I feel great actually."

"You don't look so well. You look a bit pale and you have dark rings around your eyes."

"I do? Oh, I must have forgotten to take my medicine last night, no big deal."

"Missing one day can have that big of an effect on you?"

"Uh, I guess. I've taken it every day since I can remember." Haruka tapped her chin. "So it might."

"I don't want to be nosey, but what is it for?"

"When I was little I was sick a lot. My father works in a lab and he tried his best to find something to help me. It's actually something he makes himself."

Michiru thought for a moment. "Well, if missing one day can do this to you then you shouldn't forget."

"I won't forget anymore, don't worry! I'll see you later, alright?" Haruka kissed Michiru's forehead and they departed. She and Blake no longer shared the first class together so Haruka sat alone.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Blake was standing out by a large tree in the upper parking lot of the college at the end of the day. Haruka ran to him when she spotted him standing alone.

"Hey!" She waved as she ran up to him.

"Oh, hey Haruka. I was just about to get going."

"It's so weird not having you in any of my classes now. I don't have anyone to talk to anymore."

"Me too! Although I have Michiru in one of my classes." He seemed to gloat.

"Now that's not fair at all." Haruka pouted.

Blake continued to talk about his day but Haruka seemed to zone out a bit. He paid no attention to her as he mentioned a few cute girls in his class and thought about maybe talking to one. Haruka stared at his neck feeling some strange urge overcome her. He kept talking and was taken off guard when Haruka grabbed the neck of his shirt.

"What the hell is your problem, Haruka? I promise I won't touch Michiru. HARUKA!" Her eyes were fixated on one thing as she pushed him back onto the tree. "What are you doing?" He asked with fear in his eyes and tried to pull his head away from her the best he could. He was powerless under her strength as he struggled.

"This… yeah. This is it." Haruka seemed to be thinking out loud.

"What is it?" He squealed.

"Quiet." She drew in closer to his neck and smelled it. "Yes." Haruka had no control of herself as she proceeded. Two long fangs slid over her canines as she bit down on the side of his neck.

"Haruka…!" Blake continued to squirm.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Hey Haruka, you still feeling sick?" Michiru approached Haruka who was holding herself up against the side of a building.

"Uh, no. I don't know." Haruka blinked a few times. The last thing she remembered was talking to Blake under a tree in the upper parking lot. Now she found herself standing near one of the buildings of the college.

"Why don't you go home and lay down for a bit then? Maybe you will feel better then. Oh, if you feel up to it my mom is going to be out this Friday and I was working on a song over the holiday break. I wanted you to hear it."

"Oh, I'd love to hear it." Haruka said as she stood up fully. "Yeah, maybe I should take a nap."

Haruka drove Michiru home and left her with a goodbye kiss. She felt like Michiru was a bit upset about something when it came to the two of them. Haruka had not made anything official yet but felt they were practically a couple. She decided that after everything her and Michiru had done together and some of their secrets they shared that maybe it was time for her to make the decision. Friday she would finally ask the shorter girl to be her girlfriend. As Haruka arrived home she went straight to the medicine cabinet and injected her medication before it got any later. She did not feel any different but knew a nap would help her.

Her dream was strange. Everything was in a red hue rather than colors. A tree took shape in front of her and then Blake appeared. He was talking about his day in college and some girls he liked. It was as though a spot light was on them everything was pitch black after ten feet out. As he talked she stared at his neck. She could hear his pulse that drowned everything else out. The steady blood flow in his body awakened something inside of her. This must be the source of the hunger she could not seem to feed. It felt as though something inside of her took a hold of her entire being. She felt a rush of adrenaline take over her body as she picked him up and pushed him to the tree.

"What the hell is your problem, Haruka? I promise I won't touch Michiru. HARUKA!" She could hear him saying as she drew in closer. She mumbled a few things to herself until she sank her fangs into his neck. The taste of blood overcame her mouth as she savored it for the first time. The feeling it sent through her body was an experience all in its own. It felt as though she was satisfying a deep, carnal craving as she fed. Once her crimson lust had been satisfied dropped him to the ground. He sat quietly for a moment then looked up at her. Something in his eyes seemed very different.

Haruka awoke suddenly panting and covered in sweat. She ran to the bathroom and shut the door quietly. Her reflection stared back at her silently as she observed her mouth. "What a nightmare." She said as she lifted her top lip with one finger and looked at her teeth. Nothing was out of place. "Why am I having these nightmares lately?" She questioned herself and took her other hand and pressed on her gums above her top teeth with another finger. "Uh!" A gasp escaped her as she watched in horror. As though hitting a nerve a fang slid down over her canine when her finger pressed on it. "What? No! I must still be dreaming!" She shook her head fiercely and splashed some water on her face.

The gaze of her reflection locked eyes with her own. She drew closer to make sure she was hallucinating. It was no hallucination though, it came out again as she pressed down on it a second time. "No." She fell to the floor. "What's wrong with me? I wonder if… no. I can't think of this now. I can't tell Michi either. What am I supposed to do?" Haruka stood and looked at herself again. "It can't be true." She put her hands on her hips and laughed. "If it were-I couldn't see my reflection." She continued to laugh as she went back to her room and laid down. "Right?" The last question ran through her mind briefly.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Hey, Haruka, you look better today." Michiru greeted her as Haruka arrived at her house in the morning to pick her up for college. She had been taking Michiru to and from college for a while now.

"I feel better." Haruka managed a weak smile. Was it the medicine? Or was it something else?

They met up with Blake after her morning jog. Blake had the same look in his eyes from her dream. It was as though life had been drained from him but he continued to act the same. Michiru asked him if he was feeling alright as well. Haruka could only silently think to herself _'please don't say anything'._

Blake looked at Haruka as though reading her mind. "I'm fine." He smiled but his expression was blank from his lifeless eyes. Michiru seemed to not buy it as she observed him. Haruka noticed a bruise on his neck with two small marks on it.

"Uh!" She put her arm over his shoulders to hide the mark. "He was just telling me about some cute girls yesterday. He's probably got his mind on them. Right, Blake?"

"Yeah." He seemed to agree without second thought.

Haruka looked at the time on her phone. "Oh, we should start heading to class now." Then she thought to herself again _'please don't let anyone see that bruise on your neck'._

"Yeah." Blake agreed with her about heading to class and answered to her thoughts as well. "Don't worry." He shook her arm off his shoulder and pulled up the collar of his shirt. "See you guys later!"

"Well, that was strange." Haruka tapped her chin as he ran off.

Michiru seemed to be making her own observations as well and she rubbed her own chin. "Yeah, he's an interesting guy." The shorter girl seemed to still be lost in her own thoughts as she pulled out her cell phone and made a quick text message. "Well, I'll see you later, Haruka." She finally managed to say with a smile.

"Alright." Haruka kissed Michiru's left temple with a smile as they separated and went to class.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

'They've spread to the college.' A man sat quietly in an office as he read the text message. All around him were open books and paper work. He scratched his short beard in thought after reading the message and sipped on some whiskey.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"I can't wait to hear your new song!" Haruka exclaimed as they entered Michiru's house Friday afternoon. "I've been looking forward to it all week."

"Well, I hope you like it."

"I know I will, I love your music." Haruka sat on the couch waiting for Michiru to get ready to show her the song.

While she waited for Michiru to play she looked at the piano in the corner of the room and thought maybe one day she could surprise Michiru with a few songs. Michiru began to play the song for Haruka. It was upbeat at the beginning then it slowed. Then it got a bit depressing for a while and slowly picked up. Occasionally it would retreat back to the sad mood then back to feeling happier. Somehow Haruka felt like she could relate to the song. As she listened to it she felt like she was listening to her life played on a violin. She thought of her childhood at the beginning. When the song slowed she remembered the dark time in her life. Then she thought of how everything seemed to get better once she met Michiru. She had no doubt Michiru had wrote this for her. Haruka remembered the times she drew away from Michiru but slowly grew closer to her even though sometimes she took a step back.

"What's the name of that song?" The blonde asked from the couch.

"Transcend."

"What's the song about?" Haruka was confident enough she knew what it was about.

"I wrote it for you actually."

"I noticed. It reminded me of a lot of things in my life." She crossed her leg over the other as she leaned back on the couch.

"It didn't upset you did it?"

"No. I liked it. It seemed to present everything very well. I can say one thing, though, you had the ending dead on." She winked at Michiru.

"Did I?" The shorter girl placed her violin on the coffee table and joined Haruka on the couch.

"Well, if the ending to the song is supposed to be happy, then yeah."

"I'm glad."

"You know, Michi." Haruka turned to her friend next to her. She was not sure why she felt nervous about what she wanted to ask. "I uh." The blonde spoke quietly as she took Michiru's hands in her own. "I've been thinking lately." She grew silent for a moment. It was what she wanted for a while now and finally felt ready.

"What's wrong?"

"Uhm, heh heh." Haruka did not think it would be this hard to ask a question she knew the answer to already. Their conversation was interrupted when Michiru's cell phone rang. "Go ahead and answer it." Haruka said and let go of her hands.

"Alright, but hold that thought, okay?" Michiru said and looked at the phone. It was as though she had seen a ghost when she looked at the number that was calling. "H-h-hello?" Her voice was shaking as she proceeded to her room.

Haruka sat on the couch as she watched her friend walk away. A bad feeling swept over the blonde. The expression on Michiru's face was troublesome. Haruka waited a few minutes for Michiru to return. When she heard some sobs coming from the bedroom she entered it unsure if she would be welcome. Michiru's cell phone had been placed on her nightstand and she lay on her bed facing the wall sobbing slowly. Haruka felt her chest tighten as she stood in the doorway. Instinctively she walked to the bed and sat down next to crying friend.

"Michi." Haruka said as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. They remained in the same position for a few minutes without words. Haruka dreaded hearing what upset her friend so much. "Michi…" She finally said after a while. No response as Michiru continued to cry. Haruka laid down next to Michiru and put her arm over her pulling her close. The notion calmed the smaller girl down a bit and after a while she turned over to face Haruka.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Her blue eyes were full of tears.

"I can stay." They spoke to each other in whispers only inches away from one another.

"Thanks. I don't want to be alone tonight." Michiru buried her face into Haruka's chest and wrapped an arm over her. "I'm glad you are here." The conversation was slow.

Haruka wanted to ask what troubled the girl but did not want to push it. She knew it had to be something awful. Michiru had always been strong when they were around each other.

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere." Haruka finally managed to say as she rested her head on the other girl's head. Usually she felt awkward in situations like this and unsure of what to say but she felt different now. They had been connecting so well on so many things and it made it easier.

"What did you want to say earlier?" Michiru mumbled from Haruka's chest after a while.

If what Haruka thought had just happened she knew she should ask another time. "Oh, well, I will have to save it for another day." She did not want something good to be associated with something tragic.

"Alright. I kind of know what it was going to be about anyways." Michiru tried to make herself feel better.

"I'm that obvious aren't I?"

"No." The aqua haired girl turned to look up at Haruka. "I can just tell these things. So, save it for another day and you will the answer in your favor. It just can't be today."

"I understand." Haruka closed her eyes and ran her fingers through the aqua hair.

"I don't know what I would have done today if you weren't here." Michiru continued. "That phone call was from a man my mom works with." Haruka felt a lump in her throat. "He actually never calls me. I knew what it was the instant I saw the number calling." She sighed before continuing. "My mother was…" She paused. "she was…" A few tears began to roll down her face again. "She was killed in a work related accident." The reality hit her hard and she continued crying into Haruka's chest for what might have been hours.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

I'm not sure how soon I will get Chapter 5 up but I will try to get it up soon. :)

**Chapter 4**

Sometime during the night Michiru fell asleep in Haruka's arms. The blonde lay quietly holding onto her friend and let her thoughts run wild. The business Michiru's family was involved with seemed dangerous. Haruka could not quite put a finger on what it was and could only speculate. Her mind played many thoughts as to what it could have been. Maybe they work for some kind of government agency from Japan or some mafia. The thought bothered Haruka as to what it could be. Although, Michiru always avoided talking about the business when she asked and that made it sound a bit shady. Michiru always said she had an obligation with the business. Why can't she just drop out of it? What could be so important in the business that Michiru would have to dedicate her life to it? After a while Haruka dozed off as well.

The dream she had this time was not as strange as the others. It was the ending to the dream she had about the vampire that attacked her at her car. When he took a hold of her to bite her he whispered something to her. She tried hard to remember it and it finally came to her: 'Awaken my child.' He whispered in her ear as he pushed her scarf down and bit her neck. If only she could remember what happened after that.

Her dream was interrupted when Michiru shifted a bit and she felt a hand brush through her blonde hair. Haruka kept her eyes closed as she pretended to still be asleep curious as to what Michiru was going to do. She felt the lips of the smaller girl press onto her own and Michiru whispered to her. "Thanks for staying with me."

Haruka broke her bearing and smiled when she heard the whisper. "I'm here for you." She replied.

Michiru sat up and stretched. Then she looked at her phone she had set on her nightstand the previous night. "I have to make a few phone calls." The smaller girl crawled over Haruka and out of bed to make some calls.

Haruka stretched in the bed and looked around the room. There were a few awards hanging on the walls of the room with etchings of a violin on them. The walls were painted a baby blue color and a few posters had been framed with pictures of the ocean. The small glass dolphin she had bought Michiru for her birthday was set on the desk next to the computer. She rolled over and buried her face in the pillow that smelled sweetly of Michiru's shampoo. Haruka relaxed in the big bed for a while as Michiru handled things regarding her mother's funeral. It upset Haruka when she thought about her own mother that she was never able to know. She had never thought twice about that until now. She wondered how different her life would be if her mother had not died during childbirth. Would she have been as accepting of Haruka's sexuality as her father was? Haruka continued to lie in the bed pondering before Michiru returned.

"Everything's taken care of. The funeral is on Monday after classes." Michiru's tone was sad but she seemed to be handling it well. "I wanted to know if you would like to come."

Come to think of it, Haruka had never been to a funeral and was not sure about it. "If you want me to go, I'll go." She said after a moment of thought.

"I'd feel better with you there."

"I'll come with you then." Haruka sat up from the bed.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, how about I make something?" Her mind went back to the mashed potatoes that had spun all over her kitchen wall when Michiru cooked.

"You should definitely cook." Michiru tried her best smile.

This meal went without incident, no fires, nothing on the walls and everything was cooked properly. As they ate the meal Haruka studied Michiru that stared off into a distance. She wondered what could be going through Michiru's mind.

Haruka finished the last bit of her eggs and broke the silence. "Are you going to be alright alone?"

Michiru came back to reality. "Yeah, I was just thinking. My mother had life insurance and we still have what my father left from six years ago. Although," She sighed. "I might drop out of college. With her gone now I have to take her spot in the business."

Haruka had grown just a bit irritated from the secretiveness of the 'family business' but kept her thoughts to herself. "Is that something you really want to go into? It seems really dangerous." She tried her best to pry for information without making it obvious.

"Accidents are unfortunate." Michiru whispered. "But someone has to do it."

Haruka sat trying to put it all together. What could be so important that Michiru was willing to risk her life? Was it worth it? Haruka hid her frustration behind a smile while she stood to take the plates and wash them. If Michiru went into the business and something happened to her Haruka would be lost. She did not know what she would do if she were to lose Michiru, the one person she had confided so much in.

"I know you're worried about me, Haruka." Her friend whispered from behind her. "I appreciate that." She felt the arms of her shorter friend wrap around her from behind. "Thanks." Michiru hugged her tightly. "Would you stay with me again tonight? I hate being alone."

"I need to run home and get a few things if you don't mind." She replied in her husky voice.

"That's fine." Michiru let her go and walked to the living room.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

At home Haruka's father was at work as usual. She had grown used to him not being there. His work was very important to him. It used to bother her as a child but she got used to it. When she was old enough to be by herself she taught herself how to cook. She gathered a few things she needed for the night at Michiru's house and tossed them into a bag. Her bottle of medication set on her bathroom sink and she eyed it. She had not taken it last night and felt fine, she wondered if her father would notice if she stopped taking it. The injections got old after a while and the spot she used was numb to the needle. She shook her head and hid it under the sink. She left a note to her father saying she was staying at a friend's house for the night.

When Haruka arrived back at Michiru's house the door was unlocked and she entered. In the living room Michiru played her violin. It seemed to be her escape from everything around her. The girl took no notice to Haruka as she entered the house. Haruka sat down at the piano. She noticed it was one of the songs from the talent show, Symphony to the Wind. Haruka smiled to herself and remembered the card Michiru had made her for her 'birthday'. While she was alone one day she looked at the card and figured out what was special about it. Michiru had folded it to look like a card but once unfolded properly there was sheet music for a song. The song on the sheet was the same song Michiru was playing now. Haruka had learned the song on the piano she had at home and wanted to surprise Michiru with it someday. Now was the time. She picked up along with Michiru after a few seconds and they played together.

Michiru's eyes opened and she stopped playing once she realized someone was playing the piano. Haruka continued the song even after Michiru had stopped. Once the song had come to an end Michiru spoke.

"I didn't know you played the piano."

"I'm still full of surprises."

"I guess you figured out what was on the card I gave you then."

"Of course." Haruka smiled. "I would say it's one of my favorite songs that you have but I love them all."

"When I wrote that song I was thinking of the first time you took me for a ride in your car."

"I'm glad I took you on that car ride. You know, I used to play piano up until high school until I got offered scholarship for track here. I took lessons and even self taught myself a few songs back then."

"So now am I supposed to pester you about continuing piano?" Michiru finally giggled for the first time that day.

"My talent is nowhere in comparison to yours."

The day went on and Haruka realized how well Michiru took her mother's death. Michiru told Haruka how she is tired of funerals and how she loses so many people around her. They moved here from Japan to try some new things and hopefully risk less here. Haruka slept again holding Michiru close. This was something she could get used to.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Monday soon arrived and Haruka had stayed at Michiru's house Sunday night as well to keep her company. Blake jogged up to the two girls before class. He seemed back to his normal self. Michiru ran ahead of the two and Haruka pulled him to the side so she could question him.

"Blake, do you remember something strange that happened last week?"

"Uh well, I ate something that gave me the runs."

"That's so gross. Anything else?"

"Honestly I can't really remember much of last week. It almost felt as though I had blanked out the whole time. But, hey, I'm alive, right?"

"Did your mouth hurt you or anything?" Haruka was afraid maybe she could have sired him into a vampire.

"No, never did. I feel the same I've always felt. Boy, you're acting strange today. What else do you want to know?"

"Oh, nothing." Haruka scratched the back of her head nervously. "Nevermind. I have to get to class."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru gave Haruka directions to the funeral as they left her house. Haruka wore a black tuxedo she had bought last year and Michiru wore a black dress. They finally arrived to the cemetery where a group of people were gathered. The day was chilly and Michiru shivered when the wind blew. Haruka offered her friend the jacket of her tuxedo to warm her up which she gladly accepted. Everyone stood silently throughout the entire event.

Haruka noticed one person that looked familiar. It was the man from Michiru's birthday party she had mistaken for Michiru's father at first. His beard was still the same length and he had his hair combed back. Haruka observed the rest of the people in the crowd. It was strange assortment of people. Everyone ranged in age from young to old and even middle aged. There was a huge difference in the ethnicity as well. For some reason Haruka found it strange but shrugged it off.

Michiru stood close to Haruka. The shorter girl dried some tears with a cloth as they fell. Haruka wrapped an arm around her friend to comfort her. Once everything had ended a few people in the crowd talked in a hush tone. A few glanced at the blonde and her friend a few times. The familiar man walked up to Michiru and asked to speak to her in private. He took her out of normal ear shot but Haruka tried to listen. To her surprise she could hear them clearly as though maybe they were talking louder than they realized.

"Why did you bring her here?" The man asked.

"Don't worry, she's harmless."

"You know we can't let the public know about what we do."

"I know, she won't find out. Don't worry. If she did she would keep it a secret. I trust her with my life."

The man sighed out of annoyance. "Keep her out of your family affairs. We can't risk someone finding out that doesn't need to. And if she does find out, it's all on you."

"I'll take the full responsibility."

"Very well, your mother left this for you." He said as he passed her a box.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Yeah, don't lose it. It's one of a kind. At least I've never seen another one. You know what it means though."

"Yeah." Michiru sighed. "I have no choice but to do it now."

"Don't let her know about any of it." He said and glared in Haruka's direction. "We can't let so many years go to waste because of one person."

"Don't worry, Joe." Her tone was irritable now. Joe walked off shaking his head.

Haruka acted as though she had not heard a single part of the conversation. Clearly they stood far enough away so that she should not have heard any of it.

"Hey, Haruka." Michiru had approached her after the conversation with the man. "Sorry about that. That's Joe. He used to work with my mother closely. He's just really upset about the loss. He also worked with my father."

"I see." Haruka was beyond curious as to what the big secret was surrounding Michiru's business. She took one final look at a few of the people around. Some were leaving while a few talked about a few things of no importance to her. A couple more were speculating about the relationship that Haruka and Michiru shared while sending a few awkward glances.

"Let's get going." Michiru said after a moment.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Yo, crazy bitch. What's your problem?" A guy was cornered in an empty hallway at the college by Haruka.

The entire scene was a crimson red again as Haruka tried to realize what was going on. She had pressed him against the wall on his shoulders. He kicked her a few times but it did nothing to deter her from her target. He was completely powerless under her immense strength. His scream was muffled by her hand. A euphoric feeling overcame her as the dark red liquid poured into her mouth.

"Crazy…bitch." He mumbled as he fell to the floor. Haruka stood over him wiping the blood off her lips. He gazed up at her after some time with the same lifeless look in his eyes as Blake had a few days ago. He stood and smirked at her and walked off as though nothing had happened.

Haruka sat up quickly with a scream. She had forgotten she was sleeping next to Michiru who woke up suddenly as well. Sweat covered Haruka's body during the nightmare.

"Ruka, what's wrong?"

"I." She took a deep breath. "I had a nightmare."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" The worry in Michiru's voice was overwhelming.

"N-no." Haruka wiped some of the sweat off of her forehead. "I need to use the bathroom."

In the bathroom Haruka observed her reflection. The nightmare felt like it was real again and she was beginning to face the facts. She moved closer to the mirror and looked at her teeth. Curiously she wondered if she could force out the fangs without having to use her finger. Without hesitation they both slipped out over her canines. "Fuck me." She whispered into the mirror.

"Haruka, you alright in there?" Michiru knocked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be back in a minute." She continued to gaze into the mirror. _'As soon as I get these things put away.'_ At will the fangs slid back into her gums. "Shit. I gotta be careful." She whispered to her mirrored image again and opened the door.

"You sure you're alright?" Michiru asked standing outside of the bathroom.

"Just a bad dream I seem to have those a lot."

"Okay, I was just worried. It's the middle of the night let's get some sleep." Michiru took Haruka's arm and led her back to the room. "No more nightmares tonight, okay?" The smaller girl rolled on her side to face the wall.

"I'll try my best." Haruka replied and took her place by Michiru's side.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

While the two girls got ready for class in the morning Haruka heard Michiru's phone ring and she answered. Haruka tried not to pry on the conversation as she had done at the funeral and only heard Michiru's end.

"Joe? Another one? It was yesterday? Alright. Yeah. I'll see you later."

"Yo." Haruka leaned against the wall next to Michiru. "Everything good?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry. It was just Joe. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

At the college Haruka gathered with some of the other girls on her track team. They were about to start preparing for the meets soon and all jogged together in the morning. After school the practices got a bit more intense. A few of the girls asked Haruka who Michiru was as she never left her side. Michiru was a good friend of hers, of course, that was not a lie. Haruka waved at Michiru as she talked to her teammates. Some of the girls seemed a bit jealous of Michiru.

After practice at the end of the day Haruka met up with Michiru and they bumped into Joe. He tried his best to be polite to Haruka but she could sense he had something against her. Joe was leaving an office and inside was the guy from her dream; he stood from the chair and left the office smirking as he walked by Haruka. His eyes were blank and it reminded her of Blake all over again. On his neck was the same type of bruise and punctures as Blake's neck. Haruka shook off the feeling she got. She hated that she hid things from Michiru but she was afraid of the reaction she would get from her friend. In the end this was one thing she would never be able to tell Michiru.

Michiru had her own thought process as the guy walked by the two girls. Haruka noticed she observed him closely while he passed. "Haruka, excuse me for a moment, if you will." Michiru said and ran after Joe.

Haruka felt guilty when she listened in on Michiru's conversations and as curious as she was she would ignore this conversation. One of her teammates walked up to her while Michiru talked to Joe.

"Hey Haruka." The girl said. She stood just a bit taller than Michiru but shorter than Haruka. Her brunette hair was pulled back into a ponytail. This girl was the team captain and often she and Haruka tied in races. "You think we're ready for the meet next month?"

"Yeah." Haruka eyed the girl in front of her. She was one of Haruka's biggest admirers even though she would never admit it. Haruka had overheard her talking to someone else about how much she was into Haruka earlier in the day. It irritated Haruka a bit as she had no interest in the girl and felt her approaching her was to add some spice into Haruka and Michiru's relationship.

"Why don't we have a friendly race tomorrow? See if you can beat me now?" The team captain gloated a bit as if it was her way of flirting.

"Alright." Haruka held her hand out for a shake. The girl took Haruka's hand and the two shook on it. Haruka glared into her eyes as they shook on the race.

"Ready to go, Haruka?" Michiru approached the blonde shortly after the team captain had left.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day the race had been prepared. Michiru stood on the side line as the two girls approached the start. It was still too cold to be running outside so they held the race inside the gym. Another girl on the team held the time watch as Haruka and the team captain took their start position.

"And go!" The girl with the time clock screamed.

Michiru cheered on Haruka as she ran. Haruka ran slow at first keeping her pace with the team captain. Running had become too easy for her and she played around a bit even though her teammate tried with all her might. After Haruka fell back a bit the brunette was confident she would win until Haruka sped past her and won.

The girl with the time clock stood there quietly staring at the stop watch. "Uh." She said as she observed the time she had clocked. "Must be a faulty watch." She hit it a few times on her open palm.

"What's wrong with it?" Haruka approached her.

"According to this, if it's right, you just broke the record at this college."

"What?" Haruka looked at the stop watch and read the time herself. "That was just fun though, so it doesn't count." Haruka laughed nervously as her opponent walked up to look at the time as well. The girl seemed a bit taken back when she looked at the time as well.

"Wow." The brunette stood in shock. "See if you can do that during a meet and make it a new record."

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Haruka scratched the back of her head trying to keep her cool. The entire team had gathered around to look at the time. Another one of the girls piped and said she was sure Haruka had also beaten the men's record at the college as well. Everyone gasped at that statement. "I'm sure the watch was just faulty." Haruka continued to try to blame the watch but in the back of her head she played with the reason as to why she was so fast. "Anyways, I have to get going. See you guys later."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"What was that all about?" Michiru asked once they had arrived at Haruka's car.

"Oh, they said I broke the school record." She tried to shrug it off as no big deal.

"That's amazing!"

"It's really no big deal, it was just practice. Odds are I won't be able to do it again anyways."

"Don't say that! I'm sure you will."

They had arrived at Michiru's house and went inside. Haruka gathered her things from the bathroom and the bedroom so she could go home. "You sure you will be fine alone now?" She asked the smaller girl.

"Yeah, I feel much better now." Michiru smiled but the sadness was still present in her eyes.

"If you need anything, you call me, alright?" Haruka threw her bag over her shoulder.

Michiru sighed as she seemed deep in thought.

"You alright Michi?" Haruka approached her shorter friend and put her hand under her chin to bring her face up. Michiru's blue eyes stared into Haruka's.

"Well." Michiru thought momentarily. "Yeah, there is something I need."

"What's that? I will do what I can to get it for you."

The aqua haired girl stood thinking about her request. "Remember a couple days ago you wanted to ask me something? We were sitting on the couch."

Haruka remembered that night clearly, it was the night Michiru's mother had passed away. "Yeah."

"Well that's what I want." Michiru tried to look to the side to avoid the blonde's eyes.

"Is that what you want?" Haruka turned Michiru's face back to hers.

"Without a doubt."

"Are you sure it's what I want?" Haruka acted serious but she was joking.

"Well, I don't know." Michiru seemed a bit offended.

"I'm kidding, Michi!" Haruka wrapped her arms around Michiru. "It's what I want too." She said and kissed Michiru.

"I felt like we've been a couple longer though." The smaller girl said after the kiss.

"Me too." Haruka kissed her forehead. "Now I don't want to leave."

"You have to!" Michiru said. "Besides, tonight I'm going to be helping Joe with something so I'll be gone."

Haruka felt her heart joke momentarily. "Be careful." Was all she could muster to say. "I'll see you later." The blonde bent over to give her new girlfriend one final kiss before leaving.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

A couple days later news had spread through the college about the broken record. Haruka tried her best to dodge the questions of the professors. The previous record had been set since before Haruka was born. She shrugged it off saying it was just a fluke or that it did not count because it was practice. The coach was going wild about it as well but Haruka tried to act like it was not a big deal. She felt weird drawing the attention to herself. In high school it was different; she was a normal person then. Now she is different and not so normal.

Michiru had been going out to help Joe more often with the business which worried Haruka greatly. Every night when Michiru got home she would always send Haruka a text that she was fine because of how much Haruka worried about her.

Haruka had a third dream about attacking another boy in the college. How she had not been caught yet seemed to astound her but she knew she would not be so lucky every time. The day after the attack she saw Joe in the school again while she was walking with Michiru. He was exiting the same room and inside was the guy from her dream. Michiru let go of Haruka's arm and went to talk to Joe.

As usual, any time Haruka and Michiru were not glued together her team captain, Brenda, would approach her and try to flirt. Haruka had finally had enough and told her bluntly that she had no interest in her and she was with someone else. Brenda seemed a bit upset but confused as to how Haruka knew she had a crush on her.

"I have no problem being friends but I have someone very special to me." Haruka said in a defensive tone when Brenda tried to flirt with her.

"Oh. Michiru isn't it?" Brenda seemed a bit upset.

"So, I ask you to please stop flirting with me." Haruka continued to speak coldly and very direct.

"I'm sorry." Her team captain said and turned away.

Michiru came back up to Haruka and took her arm as she usually did. "Everything alright, Ruka?"

"Yeah, just scaring off one of my admirers." She said in an angry tone.

"Ooh, they still at it?"

"Yeah, it's hard when you're this good looking." Haruka gloated.

"I won't argue with you on that."

"Let's get you home." Haruka began to walk in the direction of her car.

She dropped Michiru off at her house and parted after a passionate kiss. Haruka had never been happier in her life. She drove home and parked in her usual spot in the drive way and walked to the door twirling her car keys on her finger. When she approached her front door she felt a sting in her back.

"What the hell?" She put her keys in her pocket and reached for what had stung her. "What the hell is this?" A dart had been shot at her from behind somewhere. She turned to see where the dart had come from and lost feeling in her legs. "Show yourself." She mumbled as she fell to the ground. A pair of black dress shoes approached her and put something over her head. Her whole body felt numb after a minute and she passed out.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Is it her?" A voice asked and a few others exchanged some words.

Haruka had regained consciousness and was was lying on a floor in darkness. It was a cold and slick surface beneath her. She wondered where she was at and what happened. Her hands were bound by what felt like chains. Someone grabbed the back of her shirt and dragged her through a large room. The footsteps of the person dragging her echoed in the building.

"I think we've got her." A man's voice spoke and he let her go.

She struggled to her knees and found she was still blind folded with a gag in her mouth. The first thing she could think of was when she was gagged the first time the night she was raped. Haruka began to panic as that night came back to surface in her memory. When she tried to stand to run her legs were weak and her knees buckled.

"Oh, don't worry, dear, we won't hurt you." A woman's voice spoke softly from just feet away. "Take that blindfold off of her, we're not barbarians. Take that gag out of her mouth. What are you trying to do to her? Clearly she's scared." The woman's voice was soothing to Haruka and it calmed her.

The blindfold was removed and she tried to focus her eyes on the surroundings. Everything was a bit blurry. The gag was removed as well and Haruka found her voice. "Who's there? Where am I?" Her vision slowly started to focus on the woman that was leaning over in front of her. She could barely make out what looked like a red dress and blonde hair.

"It's her." The woman stood up and motioned for them to take the chains off of Haruka's hands.

"Who are you?" Haruka asked as the woman finally came into focus. She was looking at a woman that seemed familiar somehow. The woman had long, sandy blonde hair and dark green eyes. "Who are you?" Haruka asked again.

"Well, that's a bit upsetting." The woman closed her eyes and shook her head. "After all these years you don't recognize your own mother?" She came face to face with Haruka and smirked revealing perfectly straight teeth and two long fangs.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Time to answer a few questions.

Chapter 5

"My mother died when she gave birth to me." Haruka was furious.

"Is that the lie he told you? You have my hair and my eyes. The resemblance is striking do you not agree?" The woman continued to say with the same soothing voice.

Haruka took a closer look at the woman claiming to be her mother. Even the facial features were very similar. She looked about the same age as Haruka which confused Haruka slightly. The similarities almost made it seem like they could have been sisters given the age the woman appears to look.

"Although, I can't seem to figure out something." The woman stepped closer to Haruka and looked at her mouth.

"What?" Haruka was not sure what she was more upset about at the moment-the fact that this woman could be her mother. Or, if she was why, did her father lie to her all these years?

"Why don't you have any fangs?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're what the humans call a vampire. So, where are your fangs?" The woman continued to stare at Haruka's mouth. "I don't understand why you don't have any."

Haruka felt her anger rising. Who was this woman and why was she making accusations about her? "It's none of your business." Haruka growled with a stark attitude.

"It may not be my business. I can see you don't believe me. Go home and ask your father about your mother. Tell him Angeline sent you. I expect you to come back and if you don't we'll bring you back here."

"You're just going to let me go?" Haruka was puzzled.

"You are not my prisoner and I won't treat you like one. You may not be ready to accept it yet but you are my daughter. So, go to your father and ask him for the truth since you do not believe me. And don't forget to mention my name, Angeline." She turned to the man standing behind Haruka. "Alexander, show her to her car and give her back her keys."

"Yes, Lady Angeline." When he spoke his fangs were visible. He bowed to Angeline and turned to Haruka. "Are you able to stand?" He offered his arm to Haruka for balance. His tone was very calm and respectful to both women.

Haruka pushed his arm away and tried to stand by herself. "I can stand by myself." Her knees were a bit weak as she pushed up from the floor. Before she followed him she took a look around her surroundings. The room was enormous. Marble floors spread through the whole room with lavish rugs. The ceilings were well over twenty feet high and a marble fireplace was lit on one wall. The tapestries in room were an elegant crimson color with gold trimming. A few chairs and a table were in the center of the room, all very elegant as well. She was standing in a mansion.

"Miss, please follow me." Alexander motioned and Haruka followed.

She wanted to ask Alexander some questions as he appeared to be the right hand man but decided against it. Haruka glanced back at the woman claiming to be her mother whom stood in the same spot watching the two exit the room. The woman was beautiful and wore a long red dress that glistened in the light. Haruka turned back to following the man in front of her. He led her through a long hallway that was decorated with beautiful statues and paintings probably worth thousands.

"Here are your keys and your phone." The man continued to speak in a respectful tone.

They had reached a large door. Behind the door was a garage filled with cars and motorcycles. Haruka might have died and gone to heaven when her set sight on the vehicles. She had never thought she would see so many high quality cars in one place.

Alexander pointed to her car in back of the garage. "You should return within a day. I don't want to bring you in the same way as I did last time." His voice was very deep. She could not pin point his accent but it was very faint.

Haruka resisted a rude comment while she remembered how she had been brought in. "Fine." She snatched her belongings from the man's possession and stormed to her car furiously. The garage door opened when she got to her car. Her car seemed out of place next to all the expensive cars. She was also angry knowing someone had driven her car without her permission. When she backed out she glanced at the mansion. She knew exactly where she was. Haruka had always admired this mansion from the outside when she drove pass it.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka finally arrived home. Her father was nowhere to be found as usual. Benny greeted her at the door and jumped up on her legs demanding to be held. "I missed you too." She said while she picked him up with her free hand and proceeded to her room. "I don't know what the hell is going on, Benny." She continued to speak to the small dog as she placed him on her bed and threw her backpack next to him. With a sigh she dug through her bag and pulled out some notes from class. She decided to busy herself with an assignment while waiting for her father to get home. It was roughly 7:00 when she arrived home. Her father entered the house around 10:00 and she approached him.

"Hey." Haruka greeted him once he was settled.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine." Her gaze was locked on him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Can you tell me what happened to my mom again?"

"I've told you before; she died while giving birth to you." He answered as he always had.

Haruka sighed. "Is that all?"

"There's not much more to say."

Haruka was not sure who to believe but decided to go with what the woman had said. "Angeline says hi." She watched as all color drained from his face.

"What was that?" His face was pale.

"Angeline, she sends her greetings." The reaction she had gotten from her father was clear without needing words.

"Angel." He whispered to himself. "Alright, what do you want to know?" He surrendered quickly knowing he would be unable to win this argument.

"Why did you lie to me?" Haruka's tone was becoming angrier as the conversation progressed.

He sat on the couch and ran his hands through his hair. "A man came to my doorstep one night. He had a baby in his arms and said it was my daughter. I didn't want to believe him, I couldn't believe him. But, he left you here and I had to find out if it was true. I did the blood tests myself at the lab and it was positive."

"Why didn't you want to believe him?"

"The relationship I had with Angeline was short. I really don't want to get into it honestly but when that man came to my house with a newborn I had to make up a lie for you. I'm sorry Haruka. I didn't want you to go through the same thing I did. I grew up in an orphanage and I never knew my parents. When I was twelve a family adopted me. I didn't want you to go through life wondering why your mother didn't want you like my parents didn't want me."

"You didn't have to lie to me! Is there anything else you should tell me about her?" Haruka was furious at her father. Hardly did she ever raise her voice against him but this was different. For almost twenty years she was raised thinking her mother died during childbirth. "Was the fire a lie as well, you know, the one that destroyed everything including any photos of her?"

"No, that happened. It was the only way for me to say that's why I had no picture of her."

"I need to get away for a while." Haruka stormed to her room to pack some things.

"Haruka." He said as he followed her to her room. "Haruka, listen to me."

"No. I need to be away from you for a while, leave me alone." Haruka opened a suitcase and threw clothes in it.

"Fine. Don't forget to take your medication with you. I have a new bottle for you on your sink."

"Fine." She said coolly. Once she finished packing her clothes she stormed to the bathroom and threw some necessities in her bag. Under the sink was the bottle she had hid a week ago. She took the new bottle and stuffed it in her pocket.

"When will you be back?" He asked as she walked to the front door and slammed it without another word.

Outside she took the bottle of medication out of her pocket. "I bet that was a damned lie too!" She yelled and threw the bottle into the trees far in the back of the property.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

For a couple hours she drove mindlessly around the town unsure of where to go. She fought her anger back. The betrayal she felt knowing her father had lied to her for so long was overwhelming. Soon she arrived at a familiar doorstep and rang the bell.

"Haruka." Michiru greeted her. "Are you alright?"

Haruka took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. "I had a bad fight with my father." She admitted to the girl in front of her. "I couldn't stay there, I needed to get away and this was the only place I could think of."

"Alright, come in. I'm sorry for the mess." Michiru apologized. In the living room books were strewn around. They looked to be centuries old. The bindings on some were coming apart. There were also a few strange items as well and some unlit candles. "Let me pick up real quick, have a seat." Michiru quickly gathered the items off the floor.

Haruka observed a few with strange writings in them and odd symbols. Some were in English others Japanese and languages she could not comprehend. She bent down to help Michiru pick up some books but Michiru insisted she take a minute to rest on the couch. Haruka obeyed and sat on the couch. After the living room was cleaned Michiru joined Haruka on the couch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Michiru asked and placed her hand on one of Haruka's hands.

"Remember when I told you my mother died during childbirth?"

"I remember."

"Well, I happened to run into my mother earlier." Haruka admitted.

"I'm sorry, what? Like a ghost or something?"

"No. She was flesh and blood and we talked. She sent me to talk to my father so I talked to him. I managed to get it out of him." Haruka leaned back on the couch. "For near twenty years he lied to me."

"Why did she suddenly appear?"

"I haven't been able to ask her that yet. She sent me home to talk to him and this is where I ended up after I talked to him. I just can't bear to look at his face right now. Almost twenty years, Michi." Haruka shook her head. "I hope I'm not intruding on anything, you seem busy."

"Don't worry; I'm never too busy if you need something."

"I hate to ask-but can I stay here for a little while? I just can't return to him right now."

"Yeah. I don't mind. I enjoy when you are around. Stay as long as you need to. Did you get everything you needed?"

"Yeah, I need to get my suitcase from my car." Haruka went to retrieve her belongings from her car. On her way out her phone rang. She looked at the screen to see who it was from. It was a recently added number with the name "Angeline" on it.

"Hello?" She answered.

_"What did he have to say?" Her mother asked._

"He told me the truth."

_"And that was?"_

"He mentioned having a brief relationship with you and then a man bringing me to his doorstep."

_"Let us continue this conversation tomorrow. Besides, you have made a mess we need to clean up."_

"A mess?" Haruka asked curiously.

_"I'll tell you tomorrow, come after class."_

The call ended. Haruka had many questions for her mother. She took her suitcase out of her car and went back to Michiru. Her girlfriend was still sitting on the couch waiting for her. Michiru led Haruka to her room where she placed her suitcase. Haruka was still in disbelief over the whole thing. It seemed like everything in her life was crashing all at once. She questioned why everything seemed to be happening at the same time. The only good thing in her life was Michiru. She turned to look at the shorter girl.

"I'm going to head to bed early. I need to put my mind to rest."

"Alright, I'll join you shortly."

Haruka prepared herself for bed and lay down on the side that had become hers the past week. She thought of many questions she had for her mother that she would ask tomorrow. Even though she did not know if she could trust her mother or not the woman had not lied to her. Haruka remained in thought staring at the ceiling for about ten minutes until Michiru finally joined her.

"Try to get some sleep." Michiru whispered to Haruka and rolled on her side to face the wall.

"You too." Haruka moved closer to Michiru and wrapped her arm over her. "Goodnight." She whispered and kissed her shoulder.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka pulled up to the mansion the next day. Alexander greeted her outside of the mansion with another person that acted as a valet. "This way, Miss." He motioned for her to follow and took her through the front door. The room was large just as the other one consisting of the same décor. Hallways sprouted out from both sides of the room and in the middle was a huge chair that resembled a throne. A balcony hung over the chair with two staircases adjacent to it that led to the balcony. The balcony had several book cases and all sorts of paintings and statues.

"I'm glad you've returned." Angeline was relaxing on the throne like chair. She wore another crimson colored dress with black trimmings on the bottom of it. "I'm sure you have some questions." The woman stood and had both Haruka and Alexander follow her up one set of stairs that led to the balcony above the large chair. A table with two chairs sat in the middle. "Please, take a seat."

Haruka sat down in one chair and crossed one leg over the other as she usually did. It felt like she was staring in a mirror. Except the image had longer hair and wore a dress.

"So, he told you about me?" Angeline crossed her hands in her lap and laced her fingers together.

"He did." Her emotions were still mixed about the entire situation. "But, I do have some questions for you."

"Ask away. I have nothing to hide."

Haruka cleared her throat and asked all the questions that ran through her head the night before. "Why did it take you almost twenty years to find me?"

"I searched the day you were taken from me-"

"Taken?" Haruka could not help but interrupt.

"Yes, taken. I had every intention of raising you when you were born. On the third day you went missing. I was never able to find you and never able to figure out whom had taken you. I had all my sources searching for you and after nothing turned up I managed to get over my sadness and accept the fact – my daughter was gone."

Haruka tapped her fingers together on her lap while she thought to herself. Why would someone take her? After a moment of thought she looked back up at the woman and continued her questions. "How were you able to find me and where I lived suddenly?"

The woman chuckled a bit at the question. "My dear, you left a trail behind you. I received reports of activity in the college, one that involved young men being attacked and fed on. I had someone go to the college and investigate for me. Once he was sure it was you I sent my best man to bring you here."

Haruka studied the woman in front of her momentarily before speaking. "I'm still a bit irritated with the way that was handled."

"Would you have come voluntarily if he had approached you? If he told you your mother that you thought was dead for almost twenty years wanted to see you?"

Haruka thought about the statement that was true, she would have blown him off if he had approached her in that manner. "I don't want to be brought back in that manner ever again." Her tone was demanding.

"I would never do that again and I apologize. However, this leads to something we do need to talk about." Angeline leaned forward and observed Haruka's mouth from the distance as she had done the previous day. "Clearly, you are my daughter I have no doubt about that. I was never able to figure out one thing though."

Once her mother had paused after the last sentence Haruka spoke. "What is that?"

"How are you able to make a feed without any fangs?" Her tone was both serious and curious.

"Excuse me?" Haruka was taken back.

"All the boys that had been attacked all had puncture marks on their necks but you have no fangs."

Haruka perked a brow at the statement. No doubt the woman in front of her had a misunderstanding. When Angeline spoke she did nothing to hide her fangs as Haruka had done since her discovery. "I'm confused."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"How are you able to puncture their necks?"

"Uh." Haruka thought the woman was playing games with her. "It's not like I walk around all day with them out for everyone to look at me like I celebrate Halloween on a daily basis."

"Pardon?"

Haruka shook her head and leaned forward over the table as well. She opened her mouth to show she had no fangs at first. Angeline studied her mouth momentarily. At her will the fangs revealed themselves as they came from their hiding spot.

"Astounding." The woman sat back in her chair. "It makes sense. So that's how you were able to stay hidden from us and blend with the humans." She tapped her chin deep in thought.

"Can't all vampires do that?"

"We really don't like to be called 'vampires'. Calling one of us a vampire is like using any other racial slur, it's very insulting, that's just what the humans happen to call us. We call ourselves Lilin. And no we can't do that, once a Lilin reaches full maturity they lose their canines which are replaced with a longer version. Although," She paused before continuing and took another glance at Haruka's mouth as the fangs retreated. "you aren't a normal Lilin. Which brings another question that I have yet to find an answer to- your father was human. You see, we were the original inhabitants of this world long before the apes began to change into what they are now. In all those years neither of the two races were ever able to conceive a child together. So the question is: how were you conceived?"

All of this was new to Haruka. She wondered if her father was a human, or more so, did he know about her mother being a vampire? There was no way for Angeline to hide her fangs as Haruka had been able to do.

"Don't worry; your father is very much human." Her mother answered before she could ask the question.

"You don't read minds do you?"

"Oh no, but I could tell you were about to ask it from your silence. You are the first ever cross between the two races- the first ever half-breed. I've tried to find out for years how it was possible but all my leads led to nothing."

"So, tell me some other things." Haruka redirected the conversation back to her questions. "From what I've always known about vamp- Lilin," she corrected herself as to not insult the woman again. "their reflection doesn't appear, they burst into dust as sunlight hits them and the only way of killing one is either by a stake to the heart or decapitation. Why hasn't the sun had effect on me? Perhaps, because, I'm half human and half Lilin?"

Angeline roared with laughter at the entire statement. Haruka was confused as to what was so funny."My dear child, those are all Hollywood myths. Those myths were created centuries ago by us. We've always had the upper hand when it came to humans and we created those myths and in turn they believed it. There's only one way to kill a Lilin and it's certainly not a stake to the heart or sunlight." She laughed again at the last sentence. "And all that mess about no reflection." She shook her head. "That was a joke at one time and the humans even believed it. They can be so feeble minded."

"This is so much to take in at once. One day I was a normal girl who enjoyed running for track the next day my world is completely changed." Haruka sighed. "Is this why I'm so much faster than the other girls? They even said I broke both the male and female record at my college during a practice."

"Yes. You are much stronger and more agile than them."

"Isn't that, like, cheating? I don't want to win something if my competition is no match for me."

"You obviously don't know this and you best keep it a secret. Many famous athletes, the really good ones, they are Lilin."

"Wait, how do they go unnoticed? You can't hide your fangs so how do they do it?"

"Ah. They exile themselves from us to indulge in fame. They defile themselves and file their fangs down to resemble a human's with using a special file."

"I'll have track meets starting up soon and I've been debating on what to do. I feel guilty if I win."

"You can blend in with the humans. Go make a name of yourself, break a few records. Have a feel of how it feels to be your true self. Now then- there is one thing I do need to cover before you leave. Unless you have any more questions for me?"

"None I can think of."

"You need to have a feeding schedule. You can't just run around attacking anyone you see and think you are not going unnoticed. The longer you go without a feed you put yourself in danger. I'm guessing you don't even remember when you do it and it probably surfaces in your subconscious thoughts while you sleep? If you don't do it on a regular basis you will not be able to control your urges. Your body will resort back into a primal stage and you won't have control over your actions as you search to satisfy your hunger." Angeline turned to Alexander whom had been standing silently behind her the entire time. "Alexander, please bring something for my daughter."

"Yes, Lady Angeline." He bowed to her out of respect and disappeared for a minute.

"So, what was the name he gave you?" She turned back to Haruka.

"My name is Haruka."

"Certainly not the name I would have given you but nevertheless." She smiled.

"Actually, I do have one last question."

"What is that, dear?" Angeline continued to speak softly to Haruka in the way she had always imagined her mother would talk to her.

"What happened to the guys that I attacked? They all seemed to have a strange look in their eyes; they didn't turn into a vampire?" Haruka was unsure of how to word that sentence and used the word 'vampire' purposely.

Angeline chuckled again at the statement. "Another Hollywood myth." She managed to say between a few chuckles. "That one was actually created by humans and we thought it was quite imaginative. Lilin aren't 'made' as to say, we are born from two Lilin parents. No one can be turned. To answer your question: the longer the duration you feed on someone the more apt the chance you can enthrall them."

"Enthrall?" Haruka questioned.

"When your saliva enters their bloodstream it acts as a toxin. The longer you feed the more that enters their body. The effect is only temporary and wears off if you don't continue to feed on the same person on a daily basis. It also can serve as a bond. You can tell them what to do and they will obey without question. In the end after the effect has worn off they don't remember any of it. Nice perk isn't it?"

"It seems a bit wrong, control a person without them able to make a decision for themselves. I don't know if that's something I will be able to do."

"The choice is yours in the end." Angeline turned as Alexander walked up the stairs to the balcony with a few people behind him. They all wore clothing that made them look as though they may be maids for cleaning the mansion. All of their eyes were lifeless. Haruka hated the idea of controlling people and hid her anger when she saw them. "I have a few choices for you." Angeline motioned and a man stepped forward. "You need to feed."

Haruka was appalled at the offer her mother made. Not only did she have humans working for her without giving them a free choice but Haruka did not want to feed of the man in front of her. She shook her head as he stepped forward. "No, I don't want a man."

"Alright then." She motioned for a woman to step forward.

"No." Haruka did not want that either. She just wanted to be back next to Michiru and wanted her life to be normal again.

Angeline sighed and made another motion with her hand. The maids all returned to work and Alexander disappeared down the stairs again. "You can't run away from your birthright, Haruka. You need to feed."

"Why do we need to drink blood?" The idea disgusted Haruka even though a carnal desire for the red substance resided deep within her.

"We've always needed it. There was a time when we would feed on each other but we soon turned to other resources. A Lilin's blood can be toxic to another Lilin if it's not portioned correctly. It helps us to maintain ourselves and not turn into a feral monster."

Alexander had returned with a silver platter. On the platter was a large glass jug with two beautiful, golden goblets encrusted with jewels. In the jug was a thick red liquid. He set the platter on the table and poured it into each cup handing one to both women. Haruka stared down at the cup she held unsure of everything.

"Indulge yourself." Angeline sipped on the goblet she had been given.

Haruka continued to gaze at the blood in her cup. She wondered where they had gotten it but shook off the thought. Did she really want to know? After a moment she brought the cup to her nose and inhaled. The smell made her instantly crave it and she sipped a bit. It reminded of her of taking a drink of a soda after not having one for a while. The taste the substance left in her mouth left her with a deep desire for more and she quickly drank the rest.

"I know you don't like the idea of feeding on humans so why don't you come here after college and we can sit and get to know each other more while we have a couple drinks?"

Haruka liked the idea of learning more about the woman she thought she had lost many years ago and agreed to it. She continued to return to her mother's mansion daily after practice and her classes. Haruka continued to stay with Michiru while waiting for her anger she had with her father to subside. With each question she asked Angeline she was rewarded with a satisfying answer. Her mother would never reveal her true age to Haruka but she had been around for centuries if not longer.

"Haruka," Angeline said as she sipped from her golden goblet while they spent time together one day. "There's something that has been bothering me lately and you need to know so you can be safe." She eyed Haruka from over the goblet. "You see, there's only one way to kill a Lilin. The problem is there are a couple humans that have somehow found another way to kill us. I don't know how they've managed to find a way to do it but they have. You need to be careful I don't want to lose you twice."

"I'll be careful." Haruka's attitude was her usual cockiness. "How is it a Lilin is killed?"

"Our bones are very durable. The only other thing that comes close to it is the toughness of a diamond. We cannot be crushed and definitely not decapitated. Only a Lilin can kill another by drinking every bit of blood from the target. It is frowned upon to do so in our society and the one that does it often returns to a feral nature. Our blood can be poisonous to each other if drank in large doses. Often the Lilin that drinks another dry will go insane and have to be locked away. Sometimes they may return to normal but a part of them will never be the same. Once one has consumed that much blood it has lasting affects that will haunt them forever."

"Alright, so just how long do we live?"

"The tales of immortality are true. I am unsure of your lifespan though with you being the first ever half-blood."

"How come there aren't more in the world? Why should we retreat into hiding?"

"There was a treaty we made with some humans long ago. They may not have the power to kill us but they can cause us great pain. Torture itself is excruciating to anyone but to us it's even more unbearable and torture won't kill us. They could torture us for years and we would never die. Certain senses we posses are much more sensitive than humans. The treaty was agreed upon and we are to remain hidden from the public and in doing so we aren't hunted and tortured. Now, to answer your other question that goes in hand with what I just told you. Pregnancy is even more painful to us that a human mother. It is also much more difficult for us to conceive a child. With our long lives we hardly ever have a child. So if you are wondering if you have a brother or sister the answer is no."

Haruka sipped from her goblet as her mother explained. The more she learned the more she felt at ease with herself. Slowly she had begun to accept her birthright. Her guilt began to outweigh itself as she kept the secret from Michiru. Haruka had wanted to tell her so bad. Keeping this secret from her girlfriend hurt her deeply.

Angeline remained quiet while Haruka stared off in distance thinking. "So you can see why I am upset that my fellow clan mates are being killed."

"I'll be careful. I've stayed hidden this long so it should not be a problem." Haruka smirked. "Anyways, I have to get going I have someone waiting for me."

"I will see you tomorrow then, love." Her mother smiled.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka returned to Michiru's house and let herself in. Michiru had given Haruka a key to the house while Haruka stayed with her. In the living room Michiru was working on an assignment from college. A poster board was on the floor with various markers and pieces of colored paper.

"How did your visit go with your mother?" Michiru looked up from her laptop as she jotted a few notes on a piece of paper.

"It was good. It's strange though after all these years." Haruka went into the kitchen to find something to snack on. She rustled through a few pots and pans to find one the size she needed. "Michi." Her deep voice carried into the living room. "What happened to this?" Haruka came out of the kitchen holding a pan with a perfect imprint of what looked like a charred piece of toast.

"I tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich one day and I walked away to do something and forgot about it." Michiru blushed, she knew she was not the best cook.

"I don't know how you are able to live without me." Haruka winked and returned to the kitchen. She looked under the sink to find something to scrub the imprint off the pan. After about fifteen minutes she surrendered. Whatever the other girl had done to the poor piece of bread was not coming off. "You want anything to eat?" Haruka called to the living room.

"No, I'm fine, thank you though."

Haruka had lost her appetite while she tried to scrub the pan and decided on something to drink instead. In the refrigerator was a fresh jug of Kool-Aide. She helped herself to a glass and sipped a bit. The taste was awful and she spit it into the sink.

"Haruka, is everything alright?" Michiru entered the kitchen.

"Michi, what did you do to this?"

"Well, powdered things mix better in hot water right? I boiled the water on the stove and mixed it together."

Haruka was at a loss of words. Had Michiru actually managed to burn Kool-Aide? "How do you burn Kool-Aide?" The blonde emptied the remainder of her drink into the sink. "I guess I can make use of my time while I'm here and teach you how to cook."

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad is it?"

"It's terrible." Haruka responded with a grin.

"That's just mean."

Haruka approached the shorter girl. "I guess I'm a mean person then." She shrugged her shoulders. "What am I going to do with you?" Haruka perked a brow. Before Michiru could respond Haruka had locked her lips onto her girlfriend's. The shorter girl wrapped her arms around Haruka.

"You can do what you like to me." Michiru pulled out of the kiss with a grin and gazed into Haruka's eyes.

"Anything?" Haruka kissed her again and forced back into the living room. She parted her lips and felt Michiru's tongue invade. Their tongues battled as the kiss deepened. Haruka pinned Michiru to a wall in the living room. She felt petite hands running through the hair on the back of her head while they battled for dominance of the kiss. Haruka felt the smaller hands travel down her sides and cling onto her hips. When Michiru tried to push her shirt up she stopped her. Haruka had wanted to get closer to Michiru and take the final step in the relationship but something inside of her prevented her from doing so. Every time they ended up in this position Haruka always stopped anything else from happening. "I'm sorry, Michi." She rested her forehead onto the forehead of her aqua haired beauty.

"It's alright." Michiru hugged her tight. The passion between the two grew stronger and stronger with each passing day. "I'm not in a rush for anything." Haruka had pulled back and kissed her a few more times. Their moment was interrupted when someone knocked on the door. "We hardly seem to get time alone. We should just go out some day to some place alone where no one can find us." Michiru said while Haruka backed away to let her go to the door and open it. Joe stood in the entrance.

"I didn't interrupt anything did I?" He asked Michiru whose lipstick had been smeared. Haruka stood behind Michiru with her lips covered in the lipstick of the shorter girl.

"Ah, no." Michiru blushed and turned to Haruka. They had not noticed how bad the lipstick had smeared between the two. "What's the matter Joe?" Michiru let him in and fixed her lipstick. Haruka wiped her lips clean.

"I need you to come with me tonight, it's very important." Joe sat down at the kitchen table followed by the two girls. Haruka sat down opposite of him and Michiru sat on her lap.

"I was in the middle of an assignment, Joe."

"You know work comes first."

"Alright." Michiru hated leaving Haruka alone. She knew how much it worried the blonde. Haruka wrapped her arms around Michiru's waist and rested her chin on her shoulder. "That means you need to let me go, Ruka." Michiru said playfully.

"I don't like when you leave." She pouted. "Be careful." She let go so Michiru could get ready. Haruka sat back in the chair in her usual pose – one leg crossed over the other one. While Michiru prepared herself Joe glared at Haruka and for the first time ever they had a conversation.

"If you hurt her, by God, I will kill you." Joe said with a stern look. He was extremely protective of Michiru. Joe had been like a second father to Michiru since her father passed away.

"I won't hurt her." Haruka replied with the same look Joe was giving her.

"I've got my eyes on you. If she gets heartbroken I will hunt you down." He propped an elbow on the table and leaned forward onto his knuckles as though trying to intimidate the blonde girl in front of him.

"I'm ready." The other girl had reentered the kitchen. "Joe! Don't harass her!"

"I just had to make a few things clear." He scratched his short beard and diverted his gaze away from Haruka. "We should get going."

Michiru had changed into a T-shirt with jeans that hung over some black boots. On their way out she grabbed a jacket and kissed Haruka before she left. Haruka sat quietly in the kitchen tapping her fingers on the table. She was nervous every time Michiru left with Joe for 'business'. After about thirty minutes Haruka grew impatient and decided to take a drive around town. She found herself stopping at a small park. Haruka tried her best to get her mind off of the dangers Michiru might be risking. The park was closed but Haruka proceeded in and sat on a swing. She did not swing but twirled in it instead while she thought of everything she had learned. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a fight break out a few blocks away and ran quickly to see what was happening.

Haruka ran quickly down the dark street. The night was dark and it was late. She could hear feet scuffling around in an alley and darted to it. Her eyes focused on a man that was pushed from around the corner where the alley turned. "What the hell." She whispered as a familiar figure approached the man on the ground. Behind the silhouette of the familiar one a second one advanced from the corner as well. No doubt it was Michiru and Joe. What were they doing? Before Haruka could interrupt the smaller figure pulled up the leg of her pants and withdrew a jagged dagger she had tucked into the side of her boot. She thrust it into the gut of the man on the ground. Haruka took a step forward, was she witnessing Michiru murder a man?

"You can't kill me." The man growled at the two people attacking him.

"We'll see about that." The voice of her girlfriend spoke to him.

"What the hell is this dagger?" He looked down at the dagger that glowed a red color as it worked a strange magic. Swirls of glowing red came out of his body and was absorbed by the dagger still plunged into his gut. "You're the humans killing us." He said with his final breath. Michiru took the dagger out of his stomach and the man collapsed back on the ground and disappeared into dust.

Haruka stood in shock. Michiru and Joe, were they the ones her mother had warned her about? They were the humans that had been killing the Lilin _'Oh no, this is bad.'_ Haruka thought to herself. She was stuck in the middle of something and did not know what to do. Now she had to keep the secret from both Michiru and her mother.

Joe turned to see Haruka standing at the end of the alley with horror written on her face. "Shit!" He threw his hands in the air out of anger.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Took me a bit longer to update this one than my others.

Chapter 6

Joe turned to Michiru and argued with her while Haruka remained transfixed in the same position. The pair argued for a few minutes about how to handle the situation and finally Michiru walked toward Haruka. She put her dagger back safely where she had draw it from, hidden under her pants in her right boot. The blonde was unsure of what was about to happen while they approached her. Joe remained silent and crossed his arms as Michiru spoke.

"Haruka." She placed a hand on Haruka's shoulder whom shook the hand off the second it was placed on her shoulder. Michiru stepped back and glanced at Joe as if asking for advice on how to handle the situation.

"She's your problem." He said and walked away. "I warned you this would happen." Joe disappeared at the entrance of the alley.

Haruka continued to stare at her girlfriend. She had kept a huge secret as well and soon it was going to boil over. A light breeze picked up behind Haruka and ruffled her hair in the wind while the couple continued to stand silently. Michiru was trying to find the words to explain what had just happened.

"Why don't we head home?" Haruka said to break the silence that had surrounded the two girls for a few minutes. "It's a bit chilly." She led Michiru to her car that she had parked a few blocks away. Michiru walked a few feet away from Haruka which she had never done before.

The drive home was silent as well. Haruka had known what happened but she knew she had to act surprised when Michiru told her the story. The yellow Mustang pulled into the driveway next to the Honda Civic that Michiru had inherited from her mother. They exited the car and walked to the small house; Michiru still keeping her distance and deep in thought. Haruka sat on the couch where they usually had their deepest conversations but Michiru remained standing.

After Michiru had paced the living room a few times with her chin resting on her thumb she finally spoke. "I guess I have no choice but to tell you what I've been hiding from you." She turned to the blonde that was sitting on the couch in her usual position. Michiru approached the couch and sat down on the opposite end far from Haruka. "I hate keeping secrets. But, I had no choice." Haruka kept her eyes locked on Michiru as she spoke. "Joe and I are part of a group that help keeps" She paused to find the correct words to use. "certain beings in check."

"And those 'beings' are what exactly?" Haruka knew the answer but played coy.

Michiru sighed. "Our focus is keeping the public safe from vampires."

Haruka tried her best look of shock, not actress of the year worthy but enough to fool Michiru. "I'm sorry, vampires?" Haruka was still unsure if she should feel offended by the word 'vampire' yet or not. She had known them by that term since she was a child. The blonde continued using her bad acting as best she could.

Michiru stared at the floor in shame. "Yes. You see, vampires used to think they held a power over humans. They often reigned as ancient rulers in the world and controlled us. Just think of ancient Egypt as one example. Unknowing to the vampires at the time a group of humans were ready to take a stance against their immortal leaders. The 'group' I belong to is actually a huge clan of purebred humans."

"Ah, what, purebred humans?" Haruka tried to not laugh at the statement. It made it seem like a strange sort of dog breeding.

"It's more so a clan of humans that kept the impurities out of the bloodline. There's probably about a million of us in the world all over. I know it probably sounds crazy. By keeping the impurities out of the clan we are actually stronger than an average human and because of that we can keep up with and fight vampires."

"Uh." Haruka put her elbows on her lap and leaned forward into her hands. The world around her seemed to keep changing and becoming more and more insane. Maybe she had fallen asleep a long time ago and was just dreaming the whole thing. "Alright, I'll believe you. What was that weapon you have?" Haruka felt she needed to know more about the weapon able to kill the Lilin.

Michiru raised the leg of her pants and withdrew the jagged dagger from where she had sheathed it in her boot. The blade of the weapon was wavy and resembled a Kris. The handle was detailed with decorative etchings and the blade had an ancient writing on it. Haruka did not understand the language as she observed the knife in front of her.

"Joe and I had been investigating some attacks that had happened at the college. I first noticed it when Blake was acting strange. Then two more guys were attacked. You see, this kind of behavior from the vampires broke an agreement made a long time ago. The one we killed tonight was one that we found hanging around the school. We figured he was responsible for the attacks."

Haruka tried to hide her surprise. _'Oh, damn. Don't tell me I broke the treaty. I didn't even know what I was doing. Fuck.'_ She thought silently to herself in complete disbelief.

"There is something else I need to tell you." Michiru spoke as she handed the weapon to Haruka so she could take a closer look. "My name is Michiru, don't get me wrong. My public records were changed when I moved here from Japan. My mother and I were trying to stay hidden from some people in Japan when we moved here. According to official records in Japan Michiru Kaioh and Mizuki Kaioh died in Japan." Michiru dug in the pocket in the back of her pants for a small wallet. She opened it and withdrew a card and handed it to Haruka. The blonde set the weapon on the table and looked at the driver's license that was handed to her. The name on it read 'Michelle Kaio'. "I trust you, Haruka, and this is why I'm telling you this. I don't want to keep anymore secrets from you. I know everyone in the school calls me Michiru even though I am listed as Michelle, they think it's a nickname."

Haruka continued to sit staring at the driver's license in front of her. The birthdate on it was listed as December 1st. "Was your birthday changed in records as well?" She began to contemplate everything she knew of the girl next to her.

"Actually, yes it was." Michiru buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry I lied to you. My birthday isn't until March. It's on the sixth."

"So, I guess the night I took you out for your 'birthday' was more of a date then? Well, I'm glad I took you out. Anyways, how are you able change all of that in public records?" Haruka handed the piece of plastic back to her girlfriend.

"We have many connections all over the world that have access to things like that."

"I see. Is there anything else I should know about you?" Haruka knew she could not be mad at her. She had secrets she was keeping from the other girl as well, secrets she could never expose with what she knew now.

"No. I am nineteen though; I'll be twenty in March."

Haruka continued to act as though she was taking all the information to heart. She was unsure of exactly how she should act given the information she already knew about. The group of humans Michiru had mentioned intrigued her greatly. She thought back to a few TV shows that aired years ago and one in particular about a girl that slayed vampires and she chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" Michiru looked up at her quickly.

"You remember that old TV show about the high school girl that slayed vampires?" Haruka had the silliest look on her face as she tried to make a joke out of it.

"No. It's not a joke, Haruka." Michiru stood and took the dagger from the table. "Let me show you something." She led Haruka to her deceased mother's room. Haruka had never been in this room before as Michiru had always kept the door closed. Inside were various weapons hanging on the wall and the old books Michiru had out a few days ago. On the dresser were odd trinkets and candles that had been lit once upon a time. "I feel like I've sucked you into an age old war now. Joe is mad at me beyond belief."

"Don't worry." Haruka walked up behind Michiru and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm still trying to, uh, understand this all. It's a lot to take in." She pulled Michiru closer into her embrace and kissed her cheek from behind. "I guess I just need time to understand everything."

"Are you going back home?" The smaller girl leaned back and rested her hands over Haruka's arms.

"No, not yet. I'm still mad at him for lying to me. You didn't really lie to me, well, okay, so, your birthday was a lie but I can let that pass. I understand you had to keep the rest a secret." Her voice trailed off a bit as she continued to attempt her best acting. "I'm getting a headache." She lied. "I'm going to bed to sleep off everything."

"Alright, I need to work a bit more on my assignment."

Haruka released her hold on Michiru and watched her place the weapon in a small box. It was the same box she had seen Joe pass to Michiru at her mother's funeral. She closed the box and turned to leave the room. Haruka went into the bathroom while the other girl sat on the couch to work some more on her project. She took a quick shower while she debated the position she was in between her mother and the girl in the living room. Her mind wondered to what reaction Michiru would give her if she ever found out about her secret.

The bed was always comforting to Haruka when she slept in it. She traced her fingers down the side that Michiru usually occupied and brought Michiru's pillow to her chest to cling onto it. The way the smaller girl made her felt was indescribable. She inhaled the scent of the pillow in her arms; it always smelled beautifully of Michiru's shampoo and perfume.

"Haruka." A whisper woke up the sleeping blonde girl later in the night. "Haruka." The voice whispered again. "You have my pillow."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Haruka opened her sleepy eyes and saw her girlfriend standing over her from the edge of the bed. She released the pillow and laid it where it belonged. "I missed you."

"I was only in the living room." Michiru crawled to her side and rested staring at the ceiling. "I hope you aren't bothered by what happened earlier."

"No. I always had a feeling there's things that go on that we don't know about." Haruka moved closer to hold onto Michiru as she did every night. She knew one day she would have to return home to her father but hated the idea of sleeping without Michiru. "Michi." Haruka whispered into the ear of the girl next to her. "I don't ever want to leave your side." She brushed back some of the aqua hair and kissed Michiru's cheek.

"I don't want to leave your side either." She whispered back.

Haruka reached to pull Michiru's face to the side so she could give her a kiss. Every time their lips met butterflies played inside of Haruka's stomach. There was not another place in the world she wanted to be at the moment. Haruka pulled Michiru closer to her as she kissed her some more. She felt her heart racing as she had decided this was the time. The distant memory of the man that stole her virginity was no longer going to make her hold back her feelings for the girl next to her.

"Ruka." Michiru whispered when Haruka straddled her. Their lips pressed together again and between the kisses the shorter girl managed a question. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Haruka made no attempt to respond to the question and began to kiss Michiru's stomach. She pushed the tank top up and over the aqua colored hair and gazed down at the exposed skin. Light from the moon beamed through the window onto the scene as Michiru removed Haruka's top as well. Both girls learned the curves of each other's bodies with the tips of their fingers for a moment.

Green eyes met blue eyes as their eyes locked onto each other. Haruka pressed her body down and kissed the soft lips of her girlfriend beneath her. She felt the petite hands on her hips pushing her bottoms down and soon removed them herself. The blonde kissed down Michiru's stomach and removed her pants as well. Haruka wanted nothing more than to show the other girl how she made her feel.

Soft moans escaped Michiru as Haruka worked her fingers and mouth below the waist of the petite girl. The body below Haruka slowly filled with waves of pleasure as she reached her climax. Haruka slowly came back up to look into the beautiful blue eyes of her girlfriend and kissed her luscious lips.

Michiru ran her fingers through the blonde strands and pushed her over. Haruka felt the lips of her lover travel down her neck and to her chest. As the lips wrapped around one nipple the pleasure was unrivaled by anything she had ever experienced. Her senses had been heightened since she reached the maturity of her Lilin blood. She could not control her shaking body as Michiru went down to give Haruka the pleasure she had just received from the blonde. Haruka took possession of the pillow next to her again and pressed it over her face to muffle her screams of ecstasy. Her body continued to build up with more and more arousal until she finally found her release. She breathed heavily into the pillow as Michiru's lips traveled back up. Michiru removed the pillow from Haruka's face and they shared another kiss.

"Michi." Haruka whispered as Michiru rolled off of her and they embraced each other. She ran her fingers through the long aqua hair and kissed her once more. All of her emotions had played into this one moment. "I love you." Haruka felt a few shivers run down her body as she finally found the words to say.

Michiru smiled and kissed the girl next to her. "I love you too, Haruka."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The following day the two girls managed to relax together. It was a Saturday and they spent most of the day together. Michiru tried to work on her project but was interrupted as her and Haruka replayed the previous night on the couch. Haruka had never been so comfortable with someone else in her entire life. She finally let Michiru finish her project and received a text message from her father while she buttoned her shirt.

_Haruka, can we talk over dinner? Your birthday is coming up and I want to take you out. – Dad_

Haruka had forgotten about her birthday. To her it was just another day, nothing too special. She pondered the idea for a minute before telling Michiru.

"Michi." Haruka approached the girl that was sitting on the floor drawing on her poster board. She knelt down and put her arms around her neck.

"Ruka." Michiru said playfully. "I really need to finish this project and I don't think I can manage another round today."

Haruka laughed. "No not that. My father wants to take me out for my birthday."

"Oh. Are you going to go back home?" The sadness from Michiru's voice was deafening.

"I really don't want to go back home in all honesty but I feel like a burden while I'm here."

"You are everything but a burden. Ah," Michiru paused momentarily. "you could move here, uh, only if you want to. The house is lonely and I really hate being alone."

"I'll think about it. I'm going to meet my father next weekend for my birthday."

"When is your birthday?"

"February second. Don't forget." Haruka said playfully. "You don't have to get anything for me. Having you is all I could ever want." She kissed the top of Michiru's head and responded to the text message. 'I'll be there Saturday at 5:00.'

Michiru finally managed to complete her project with a few ideas from Haruka. Haruka stopped by her mother's mansion for a quick visit and nourishment. Haruka and Michiru later enjoyed a meal that night they made together. Haruka had been teaching Michiru how to cook and each day she improved.

"I think you're ready to cook a meal by yourself." Haruka joked as they finished.

"Well, I have a great teacher. And," Michiru leaned close to whisper into the blonde's ear. "hey, between you and me, she's really good looking." Haruka stole a kiss when Michiru whispered to her.

"I'll keep that secret to myself. You know, track meets are going to start up soon. I'm so stoked they are finally here. I'm going to see if I can break that record again in the first race." Haruka was a bit cocky and winked at Michiru.

"Oh, I'll be sure to be there. I've never been to one before."

"It'll be fun." Haruka knew all too well she would break the record without a second thought. Her mother had told her to embrace her heritage and enjoy life and she decided she would do just that.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka arrived at her mother's mansion the next day. Her mother was acting a bit different this day as though she was hiding something from Haruka. They sat at their usual sitting place and sipped on their ornate goblets while chatting. Alexander had approached the two and told Angeline everything was ready.

"Oh, come with me, dear." Angeline stood for Haruka to follow her. She led Haruka to a closed door. It was a room Haruka had not been to yet. Her mother opened the door and flipped the lights on. It was a smaller garage than the one Haruka had been used to. Inside were a few tools and other things one would find in a garage. Haruka was unsure as to why she had been brought to this room. In the middle was a large box. "Why don't you go see what's under that box?" Her mother ushered her to it.

Haruka proceeded into the garage and her mother followed. She walked around the box observing it unsure as to what could be inside. Without another hesitation she picked up the top of it and found a beautiful sports motorcycle under it.

"Happy birthday." Her mother whispered from behind her.

"What? How did you-"

"Don't be silly, I was there when you were born." Angeline cackled with laughter.

"Of course." Haruka laughed nervously. "My birthday isn't until next Saturday though."

"I see. He must have made your birthday the day the person gave you to him." Her voice was upsetting when she spoke of that as though she remembered the sadness she felt when her only daughter was taken from her. "Your birthday is today, January 27th."

"I guess I can't blame him for that one. He had no idea when I was born. All this time I thought my birthday was the 2nd of February. I really can't accept this. I love riding bikes but, damn." Haruka ran her fingers over the bike. It had to be worth four times the price of her Mustang if not much more.

"Take it-and here." Alexander had followed them into the garage and held a box in his arms. "Here is something to wear while you ride it. There are two helmets as well. Why don't you take your girl on a ride with you sometime? I'll have someone drop off your car for you." Sometime during one of her visits Haruka revealed to her mother her sexuality. Her mother had no problem with it. With the immortal lives the Lilin had they had nothing against same-sex relationships and often had many encounters with both the same and opposite sex.

Haruka slipped into the outfit her mother had given her and prepared herself for her first ride on the new bike. Her father had a bike at one time she used to ride. He eventually got rid of it when he realized the speeds she was going and was afraid she would wreck it. During one of her visits she had mentioned how much she loved riding bikes.

"Thanks." Haruka said and placed the helmet on her head. She sped off to Michiru's house. The power of the bike was amazing while she rode through the streets. The kindness her mother had shown her since the day they met was what she had always imagined her mother to have. Haruka pulled into the familiar driveway and found Michiru on the couch reading through some of the ancient books.

Michiru looked up at her when she entered the room. "That was a quick visit. What's that you're wearing?"

Haruka stood with the helmet propped on her hip smiling. "You ever been on a motorcycle before?" She handed the helmet to the girl still sitting on the couch. Michiru had never been on a motorcycle before. "My mother gave me a birthday present. Come for a ride with me." Haruka held her hand out to Michiru whom was observing the helmet and led her outside. "Don't be nervous, I used to drive one a couple years ago." Haruka felt the girl behind her cling tightly around her waist when they mounted the bike. This time she watched the speed she drove more closely so to not endanger the girl clinging onto her.

After about an hour they returned back to the house. Haruka's car had been parked in the driveway while they were out. She approached her car and found the hiding spot for the keys and connected the new key to the ring for the motorcycle.

"That was something new." Michiru said as she removed the helmet. "It was fun too."

A car pulled into the driveway before they made it to the front door and Joe stepped out. "Michiru, we need to go." Michiru nodded and entered the house with Haruka.

"Michi, let me go with you. I want to see what you do."

The shorter girl shook her head. "I can't put you in danger. You aren't like Joe and me."

Haruka knew very well she would be fine and be able to protect herself. "I hate it when you go all I do is worry. Let me go once, please."

"Joe won't allow it."

"Then I'll follow you. I know I'll be safe between the two of you."

"Ruka, it's not that. You would be in danger and I don't want to take that chance."

"You said I was strong, remember? When we talked at my house that one night after you made dinner. Let me go just once and if it's a problem I won't go again."

Michiru sighed. "Joe won't allow it but I guess I can't stop you from following us."

Haruka smirked. She wanted nothing more than to see what the two did every night when they were away from the house. "Besides, I need to break my bike in a bit more."

"If you follow us, be careful, I can't lose you too." Michiru proceeded to get ready and took the dagger from its protective box. Haruka followed her around the house like a puppy while she prepared. "Alright, I'm ready. See you later." Michiru leaned up and kissed the blonde. "I love you." She said as the two embraced tightly.

"I love you too, Michi." Haruka watched the other girl get in the car with Joe and they drove off. Just as they were far enough away she hopped on her bike and followed at a distance. She knew Michiru was watching her in the side mirror.

They stopped at an old warehouse that looked like it had not been used for years. Haruka waited for them to enter before parking her bike in a small hiding spot. A few other cars had been parked near the building as well. Most of the windows had been boarded up but a small bit of light escaped some cracks. She found a nice spot to spy on the events taking place in the building where a board had been ripped off a window.

Inside was a table and some people gathered. Joe and Michiru sat down next to each other. Haruka recognized a couple of the people from the funeral she had attended with Michiru. She could hear the conversation clearly as she focused on it.

"You know the vamps broke the treaty when they attacked the guys in the college. We have no other choice than to put them in their place once and for all. They will never abide by it and must be put down." A woman spoke.

"Any new leads on where they are hiding?" Another person asked.

"No, there haven't been any more attacks for a while. It may have been a rogue vampire."

"Nevertheless," The woman spoke again. "a treaty is a treaty. It may have been set in motion over a thousand years ago but it has been broken."

"We are using all of our resources to find where they are hiding but nothing is coming up. The vamps aren't stupid they probably have better connections in the world than we do."

Haruka was mad at herself. She had put all the Lilin in danger by her actions. A war that had been ended over a thousand years ago was about to resurface all because of her and it would put the girl she loved more than anything in danger. Her mother was in danger as well and she was afraid to lose her. Haruka's thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps approaching her.

"What are you doing here?" A man approached her. He was human without a doubt. "We don't appreciate spies." The man continued to walk toward her as to grab her. She skillfully dodged him.

"I'm on your side." She said in her husky voice.

"Only the words of a spy." The man was tall black man with a shaven head. His physique resembled that of a bouncer.

The encounter was interrupted when another figure stealthily appeared behind him with long fangs. "Behind you!" Haruka pushed the man to the ground so he would not be bitten. The Lilin then set its eyes on Haruka.

"You're a strong one." The Lilin spoke. "You're blood must taste exquisite." Haruka threw a punch that met the Lilin square in the jaw and sent him flying a few feet back to the ground. "And fast. I can't wait to have a taste."

Haruka took a fighting stance. The man she had pushed to the ground could be killed but she could not. She was indifferent to choosing sides but favored the more vulnerable – the humans. "Leave this place, vampire." Her voice was cold as she insulted the being in front of her. The man on the ground had made a quick phone call to alert the rest in the building of the attack.

"Ooh, that accursed name you humans have given us. You will learn respect tonight." The attacker jumped up from the ground and threw a few punches at Haruka all the while trying to grab onto her. Haruka dodged each attack thrown her way and managed a few more well placed punches herself.

The fight continued and soon Michiru had entered the fray to protect Haruka. The two girls battled out dominance in the brawl both trying to protect each other. Haruka had managed to grapple onto the Lilin from behind and held his arms high. "Now, Michiru." She said as his stomach became exposed. Without further hesitation Michiru plunged the blade into his stomach. The magic sucked out the life force of the creature and he turned to dust in Haruka's arms.

Michiru sheathed the blade inside of her boot. "Haruka." She scowled at the blonde in front of her. The rest of the people from the warehouse, including Joe, all stood around Michiru with their arms crossed. Haruka knew she was about to get an earful from her girlfriend and Joe.

"I'm sorry." Haruka whispered and turned to walk away.

"Haruka." Michiru stopped her from continuing any further. "How are you so strong?"

"I, ah." Was Haruka about to reveal her secret? She could not let it out.

"Are you sure you aren't one of us?"

Haruka had to quickly think of an excuse as to not reveal the truth. "Ah, well," she thought some scratching the back of her head nervously, her father was in an orphanage, _'Good enough' _she mused. "my father was in an orphanage-he never knew his parents, so it's possible…" She tried her best to sound as convincing as possible. Her secret could not be exposed; the truth behind her strength was because of her mother's blood.

"Wow." Michiru gasped. "That could be a possibility."

Joe stood silently with his face full of anger. "Michiru." He said.

"Joe, you don't suppose she can start joining us at night? You saw her fight and how easily she overpowered the vampire."

The man was clearly furious at the suggestion but he could not argue with the truth. "She's your responsibility. Don't cry to me when she's killed." His voice was heartless and cold. "You know how dangerous it is."

"If she can hold her own like she just did then I will feel better with her with me when we go out."

His eyes locked onto Michiru's as he glared at her with a stone cold gaze. "Don't cry to me when she's killed." He repeated through gritted teeth.

Haruka knew she could not be killed in the means Joe was talking but at least she could protect Michiru and that made her feel at ease. At the same time she would be betraying her mother's trust in her by killing their clan mates. The entire situation was awful.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Blake ran up to Haruka and Michiru the next day at college just before Haruka began practice. He had not heard much from Haruka lately and decided to get caught up on a few things. As usual Haruka kept a lot to herself and said she had been staying with Michiru for a while due to an argument she shared with her father.

"What are you doing for your birthday on Saturday?" Blake asked Haruka as she did a few stretches on the ground.

"Dad's taking me out." She continued stretching as she remembered her mother telling her the actual day of her birth. The only person Haruka had ever confided in was Michiru even though she had known Blake nearly her entire life. She had no intentions on telling Blake she met her mother or the exact reason for the argument with her father.

"So, you're staying with Michiru?" He wriggled his eyebrows. "Do you sleep in her bed?"

"Blake!" Haruka glared up at him. Anything personal she had always kept to herself.

"Oh come on, you're no fun."

Haruka attempted to shoo him away before he interrogated her any further on the entire relationship. He was told a while ago when they had first decided to become a couple. "You know I don't like to share personal things." She swatted at him a few more times from the ground. "Go away, I have practice." It was not just the fact that she did not want to share things with him but it was also because she never wanted him to stumble on anything the two girls kept a secret.

Brenda approached Haruka on the ground and extended her hand for the blonde to stand. Even after the warnings Haruka had given the brunette she continued to flirt with her. Haruka glared up at the girl offering her assistance and stood without her help. The feeling Haruka got from Brenda was that she was not giving up so easily.

When the team ran Haruka always ran ahead and Brenda tried her hardest to keep up which made Haruka push even harder. Seeing the brunette struggle with the pace was Haruka's way of trying to make her leave her alone. Michiru found the entire situation entertaining to watch despite the bit of jealousy she felt.

After practice Michiru caught up with Haruka. The team captain seemed as determined to win Haruka from the aqua haired girl as much as she tried to win races. As Michiru approached Haruka being harassed by Brenda the brunette made a quick escape. Michiru did not even need reassurance to know Haruka was hers and hers only. The couple walked to Haruka's car. The bike Haruka had received had not been registered to her parking spot and she continued to take her car to college.

"So, Joe says he needs some help tonight." Michiru said to Haruka as she read a text message. She held onto Haruka's arm with her free hand and put her phone back in her pocket.

"Where are we going tonight?"

"Well, he was wanting to discuss a few things. We can do it back at home."

Home- home certainly felt like Michiru's house to Haruka. She had been considering Michiru's offer but wondered what her father would think about it. This Saturday at dinner she would discuss it with him. Haruka took Michiru home and paid her daily visit to her mother's mansion.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Michiru is insistent we take you with us." Joe was irritated at the entire situation. "We do need more help on our side but I don't know how well you would be able to handle yourself when everything goes to shit." Joe had met up with the girls later that night to give Haruka the down low on a few things. "I can't argue with Michiru that you handled yourself well last night so I wanted to see you in action again. Beginner's luck I always said."

They stood in Michiru's fenced in backyard. The sun had set a couple hours ago. As Joe talked Haruka listened intently to everything he told her. Haruka's sixth sense began to kick in as though she was anticipating Joe would throw a punch at her after he was done talking- which he did. The blonde dodged the punch skillfully it all seemed like a child's game to her.

"Bring it on old man." Haruka stepped back and readied her fists.

"Oh dear." Michiru shook her head. Haruka had called him 'old man' and Michiru knew that was bad.

The anger in Joe's face seem to grow at that statement. Every punch or kick he put off was either blocked or parried. Haruka gloated at her victory once he had given up. She managed to knock him to the ground.

"No one calls me old man." It had been clear to Haruka Joe had something against her since the funeral. Haruka laughed with her hands on her hips as though it was a victory pose. Joe withdrew a pocket knife and lunged at Haruka from the ground. She was too busy enjoying her victory to take notice. The blade cut her swiftly across the stomach.

"Joe!" Michiru was furious. "Why did you draw your knife on her?" She was close to screaming at the older man.

"She needs to be prepared for anything and everything. If she gloats after every victory she could be taken by surprise."

Haruka had turned away from the two as Michiru argued with him. She pulled up her shirt to see how bad the injury was. No doubt it had cut her from the hole in her shirt but the cut was gone. A bit of blood had soaked the front of her shirt and trickled down to her pants.

"Haruka." Michiru approached her from behind. "How bad is it?" She tried to turn the blonde around to observe the wound but she did not budge.

"Ah, it missed me. It took me by surprise. Guess I need a new shirt though. Bastard cut the shirt." Haruka stormed through the back door and into the house to change her shirt and clean the top of her pants before Michiru could ask her about the blood. Michiru and Joe remained outside and Haruka decided to make a quick phone call to her mother.

_"Well hello, darling."_

"Hey, I have a question." Haruka said as she disposed of the shirt.

_"Anything you want to know."_

"Well I was doing something and got cut with a knife. I was bleeding but when I looked down at the cut it was closed already."

_Angeline laughed over the phone as she usually did when Haruka was learning new things about her heritage. "Your wounds seal quickly. Sure the pain of having your flesh torn open is quite painful but it closes fast."_

"I see. Well, I guess that's all I needed to know. I have to go now."

_"Alright, love. See you tomorrow."_

The conversation ended and Michiru and Joe had entered the house shortly after. Joe still had the same cold look he had every time he looked at Haruka. He seemed a bit upset that he had missed his target while trying to teach her a lesson.

"Haruka," Michiru cleared her throat. "no one has been able to show Joe up like that in years so he's decided it's fine for you to come with us." Joe turned his eyes away from Haruka and mumbled a few things under his breath.

"Yes!" Haruka threw her fist in the air. Now she would be able to protect Michiru during a fight.

"I have to get going now." Joe said as he dismissed himself.

"See you later Joe." Michiru waved as he left.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Joe closed the door and pulled out his knife he had slashed at Haruka. There was a bit of fresh blood on the blade. He shook his head and wiped it off on his pants and left.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

I was surprised how fast I managed to get this chapter done. I might be a bit slower with updating as I try to put everything together properly storyline-wise. Unfortunately I can't reply to some of the people posting so I'll make a quick note here. Michiru hates vampires without a doubt. ;) Slowly the story will answer some other questions I see people asking. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy.

On a side note, sentences that are **bold** are spoken in Japanese. ;D

Chapter 7

Inside the house Michiru did not seem convinced the blade had missed Haruka. She approached the blonde and pulled her shirt up to observe.

"Missed me by an inch. What can I say? I have great reflexes." The blonde gloated with a cocky attitude.

"You're lucky it only caught your shirt. He's lucky too. If he had cut you I would have been too angry." Michiru traced her fingers on the perfectly toned stomach of her girlfriend. "I don't know what Joe has against you and it upsets me."

"You don't think it's because I'm a woman, do you?" Haruka said as she pulled her shirt back down.

"I don't know. He's the closest thing I have to family now. I guess he's just protective of me. If it is because you're a woman I would give him an earful. It's none of his business if it's a man or a woman that makes me happy. Other than Joe, you're the only person I have. I won't let him decide whom I find my happiness in."

"He's not liked me since the day-" Haruka caught herself before she said 'funeral'.

"Since my mother's funeral? I know. In a way he's like a second father to me. His wife and daughter were killed years ago and he's always looked at me like his own daughter since. He's just protective of me as any father would be for his daughter." Michiru put her arms around Haruka and rest her head on her chest. "Everything we do is so dangerous. I wish I could have been born to a normal family and be oblivious to everything that happens. I've lost so many friends and all my family and now my greatest fear is losing you, Ruka-now that you've been dragged into our world. If something happened to you I don't know what I would do." She tightened her embrace on the blonde as she spoke.

"I won't go anywhere." Haruka knew perfectly well she was safe from everything. Lest she find herself at the end of the blade Michiru carried with her.

"I guess now you understand why I will never be able to pursue my dream as a musician."

"It's a shame too. Why don't you play something for me? I haven't heard you play in a while."

"Only if you play with me."

The two played together for an hour, Michiru on her violin and Haruka on the piano. They played without any songs in mind; instead they played using their emotions for each other. As Haruka played she thought of her relationship with Michiru and the events that led to them being together. Had she not taken the chance Blake told her to take she would not have experienced this rare kind of love. It surprised Haruka how fast Michiru had grown on her and sometimes questioned if they fell too quickly for each other.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka had been accompanying Joe and Michiru out each night they left. It was unlike anything she expected and they generally had no encounters with any vampires. Most of it was discussions with the rest of the people they worked with. Each person had a different job when it came to the vampires. Some watched for any strange disturbances while others handled cover-ups. Michiru and Joe were in charge of hunting the vampires once they gathered the correct information.

On the other hand, Angeline had been discussing a few things with Haruka regarding a couple missing Lilin. Since the treaty had been broken a few of the Lilin took it upon themselves to run rampant. This angered Angeline beyond belief as they disobeyed her orders. Angeline had worked hard to maintain a peaceful relationship with the humans. It pained Haruka more than anything to be in the middle of it and each side to not know. She never revealed to either what had been discussed on each side and kept it safe within herself.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Saturday finally arrived and Haruka showed up to her house earlier than she said she would. It had been a couple weeks since she had seen Benny and she took the time to play with him. Her father was still out at work which irritated Haruka beyond belief; especially when she received a text he would be late. She went on the back porch to watch the sun set behind the trees while she waited. Benny sat next to her side while she leaned on the wooden frame of the deck.

Haruka looked at her phone it was thirty minutes after 5:00. If her father was trying to make amends with her he was doing a poor job already. The night air grew chilly after the sun set and she walked back in the house. For some reason Benny refused to follow her as she called for him.

"Alright, stay in the cold then." She spoke as she entered the house. The clock above the TV read 5:30. Haruka cursed under her breath. Then she recognized a familiar figure sitting on the couch. "Who are you?"

The man stood. It was the man from one of her dreams -a tall bald man with pale skin. Except this time everything felt different. The fear she felt when she saw him in her dream was nonexistent. He turned and looked at her. His entire persona was completely different. Then he spoke to her. "Be careful whom you place your trust in."

"I think you should leave my house." She was ready to kick his ass. "You're trespassing."

"Things are not as they seem." As he spoke his fangs were revealed to her.

"I don't know who you are." Haruka lunged at him but was stopped as fear consumed her body, the same fear from her dream. "What are you doing to me?" His eyes went from round pupils to slits resembling a reptile's eyes. It seemed he projected the fear from within his being.

"We have no quarrel with each other." He approached the shaking blonde while he spoke and looked down at her. "You're not a normal Lilin and not just because you have human blood as well. You are far stronger than either combined." He walked to the front door to leave and looked back at her. "Our paths will cross again, Haruka." His eyes gleamed at her when he spoke her name. The fear that surrounded Haruka vanished the second he left.

"How did he get in?" Haruka dropped to her hands and knees while she tried to regain her composure. "And that fear I got from him…" Benny entered the house once the stranger was gone and licked her cheek. Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone chimed for a text.

_I'll be there in 5 minutes. – Dad_

Haruka helped herself to a glass of ice cold water to calm her nerves and shortly after her father's car pulled into the driveway. She decided to keep the encounter with the Lilin to herself. Benny charged for the front door the instant footsteps were heard on the front porch.

"Hey, Haruka." Her father entered the house. "And hello to you too Benny." The man was upset about something as he walked to the kitchen and met Haruka. Dark circles were present around his eyes as though he had not had much sleep since Haruka had left. "Haruka," He sighed. "please tell me that bike in the front isn't yours."

"It is."

"Where did you get it?"

"My mother." Her voice was still angry as she stressed the word 'mother'. "For my birthday."

"Don't ride too fast on it, please. Let me go change real quick and we can go."

She waited in the living room while he changed his outfit. Haruka was wearing her favorite tuxedo – the white one with the gold tie she had worn when she took Michiru out. She wanted nothing more than to argue with her father about being late for a dinner they had planned a week ago but resisted. Finally he reentered the living room. He wore a black tuxedo with a small red bowtie around his neck.

"All ready?" He asked as he took a final look in a mirror on the wall.

"Yeah." Haruka was trying her best to not let her emotions play into the night. She wanted to enjoy the dinner with her father and not argue. For the past week she had tried to figure out how she would tell him she would move in with Michiru and decided she would just lay it on him after he was done discussing whatever he wanted to. She had also decided she would take her dog with her. Michiru was excited when the couple had discussed Haruka moving in with her and also bringing Benny. The Shih Tzu was a Christmas gift a couple years ago and she hated not having him at Michiru's.

"We're going to The Galaxy." He told her as they left the house. The Galaxy was one of Haruka's favorite restaurants and he took her there for her birthday every year.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

They sat quietly for a few moments inside of the restaurant. Haruka sipped on the water she had ordered and observed her father in front of her. She wondered what he wanted to discuss with her.

"Haruka." He finally broke the silence. "I miss you being at home." She knew perfectly well after that statement the conversation was going to crash when she announced she was leaving.

"I'm still mad at you about my mother. Somehow I can't help but think you are hiding more."

"It was hard on me when she left me."

"She left you?" Haruka eyed him from the top of her glass of water as she took another drink.

"We had known each other for a few months. Some of the guys in the lab said I needed a woman in my life and brought me to a Halloween party. I met her there; she was dressed as a vampire."

Haruka tried to not spit out her water onto her father with the last sentence. So, he did not know she was a real one?

"She was beautiful and you are her spitting image. We met a few times after the party and she was still playing the game that she was a vampire. You know, some people embrace that lifestyle. I found it attractive, it was something new. After a few months of talking we got together for about a month."

Haruka tried to not laugh at the whole situation. He actually had no clue, he was totally oblivious. Angeline had done well to play that charade. She wondered if it was possible that Angeline may have had control over him though, maybe she had used him for her own pleasure. Haruka shuddered at that idea. Her mother did have humans under her control, but wait, if that was the case then how was the treaty not broken before Haruka had attacked the men in the college?

"Ah, Haruka, are you listening? You're quiet."

"What?" She pulled back to reality. "You know, she's still 'embracing that lifestyle'." Haruka tried to play along with what her father had said about Angeline being a vampire.

"I bet she is. Well, our relationship wasn't a long one. One day she just completely cut me off and nine months later a man came to my doorstep with you in his arms and, well, that's all I know."

"Was it February 2nd when he delivered me to you?"

"It was." Her father looked away momentarily. "I wasn't sure your actual day of birth so I decided it was the day you were given to me."

"I see." A few things were starting to make sense now. The conversation was interrupted as their food was delivered. During the course of the meal Haruka debated more on how she would exactly lay it on her father she was moving in with Michiru. She was certain he would cut off her debit card he had given her and had that discussion with Michiru during one of their conversations. Michiru said to not worry about it that she would take care of everything. Haruka felt guilty at the offer but Michiru convinced her it would be fine.

"I hope you aren't still mad at me." Her father spoke again to break the silence as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"I'm trying to not be mad at you." She replied. This is it- she had to tell him about her decision. "Dad, I'm going to move in with Michiru."

He dropped his fork at that statement. "Come again?"

"Michiru, the one that came over that one night, she has aqua colored hair- I'm going to move in with her."

"Haruka." His eyes locked onto her. "You don't have a job to support yourself. Don't think I will allow you access to your card once you move out either."

"She and I had that discussion already and that's all been taken care of." Haruka set her fork down and sipped on her water again.

"Haruka." He was angry and she could tell. "I hope you don't plan on mooching off of her."

"I'm not like that. It was her idea in the first place."

"Haruka." He repeated with the same stern gaze.

"There's nothing you can do that will convince me either way." Haruka dug into her pocket and withdrew her wallet. "I didn't plan on keeping this when I left anyways." She set the card down on the table in front of her father.

"Haruka." His voice trailed off as he reached for the card on the table. A few tears gathered in his eyes but he held them in. "I really don't want you to leave."

"We're going to come tomorrow and get my things."

"Is it because I didn't tell you about your mother?"

"Dad, it has nothing to do with that."

"What is it then?"

"Michiru is having a rough time. Her father died six years ago and her mother recently passed. She just needs someone with her right now and I love-"

"You don't understand love." He interrupted her.

"How can you say that? You don't know what kind of relationship I have with her or what she's helped me with." Haruka was on the verge of arguing with him again and stopped herself. "Let's leave. I don't want to cause a scene."

The argument continued the second they arrived home. "Why do you think I don't understand love?" Was the first thing Haruka shouted when they entered the house. "Is it because I'm a girl and she's a girl? I thought you understood me better than that, it's not a damn phase."

"Haruka calm down." He ordered her.

"You really have no idea what she's done for me."

"Then enlighten me." He crossed his arms as the blonde girl furiously threw her hands in the air.

"Tell me, is it because she's a woman?"

"You know I don't care. I think you are too young to understand what love is, you're only twenty."

"Love? You don't think I understand? Blake was the one that pushed us together I tried my hardest to not get involved with her. I didn't want to let anyone close to me since the night I was-" Haruka stopped. Her anger had gotten the best of her. Not once had she ever argued with her father as she did now. She could not control what she was saying.

"You were what, Haruka?"

"Leave me alone." She began to retreat into her protective shell. She never wanted her father to know about the rape.

"Haruka." He approached her and tried to calm her down.

"What do you want?" She straightened her tie while fighting back her rage.

"What happened?" He put his hands on her shoulders which she shook off and stepped back to gain distance.

"I don't want to discuss it." Haruka turned and walked to the door. "I'm leaving. I'll be back with her tomorrow to get my things." She slammed the door shut and mounted her bike. The entire ride to Michiru's house she fought back tears of anger.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Hey." Michiru ran up to Haruka the instant she opened the door. "Oh, Haruka, what's wrong?"

"We had another argument. I left my card with him and told him we were getting my things tomorrow."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?" Michiru embraced the blonde in front of her.

"You've done everything you can for me already. I couldn't be happier. I'm still uncomfortable with you paying for everything though."

"We discussed that already, Ruka."

"I know but that doesn't change the fact I don't like you doing that."

"Don't worry. Everything will be taken care of." Michiru leaned up to kiss the taller girl. "Let's head to bed, it's late and I'm tired."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day Haruka's father was still angry she was leaving. They had brought both the Mustang and the Honda Civic to gather the rest of Haruka's important things. Despite his obvious anger he helped them. He was just as upset as any parent would be when their child moves out. Haruka wondered if it was just her moving out or if there was something else that upset him.

"I guess you don't take your medicine anymore." Her father said as they packed her final belonging in one of the cars.

"No, and I feel just fine."

"Alright. I figured when I found the bottle you put under the sink."

"Yeah." Haruka thought it would be easier to leave. A part of her was upset she was leaving while the other was excited.

"I hope you are making the right decision." He continued. "You haven't known each other for long."

"I know. I've thought about that as well but she's done a lot for me."

Her father stepped up and hugged her tightly. "Be careful."

"I will." Haruka finally hugged him back and they left for Michiru's house.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The two girls brought Haruka's belongings into Michiru's house. Haruka unpacked all the while she wondered if she made the right decision. They had known each other for about three months and been together for under a month. She sighed as a few doubts ran through her mind. Without a question she felt a special connection with Michiru. From the first day she noticed the aqua haired girl watching her run she felt a pull toward her but ignored it. When Michiru finally approached her that was when she knew there was a special kind of connection.

"Michi." Haruka said while she hung up some clothes in the closet they now shared. "Do you think it's too soon for us to move in together?"

"I thought about that too." Michiru sat on the bed as Haruka sorted through her clothes.

"We haven't known each other long." She continued to sort and hang her shirts up in a certain order.

"Are you having second thoughts?" The worry in Michiru's voice was saddening.

"No." Haruka turned to Michiru. The shorter girl sat Indian-style on the bed. "If there is one thing I know, it's that I know there's not another person in the world I want to be with. I am just sometimes afraid that things are going too fast. Then I remember how easily I was able to share things with you. Tell you things I've never told anyone else." Haruka began to chuckle a bit. "I saw you the first time you stood in the gym and watched me jog. I never told you this because I was afraid. The first time I saw you I felt something different about you."

"Maybe because I'm from Japan and your father is Japanese."

Haruka leaned onto the bed with her hands and stared at Michiru. **"It's possible it has something to do with Japan but don't you think there's more?"** She spoke in Japanese.

"What? You didn't tell me you spoke Japanese!" Michiru slapped Haruka playfully on the arm.

**"I'm still full of surprises."** She winked at the girl on the bed.

**"I learn something new about you all the time."**

**"My father taught me, I can also read it as well." **

The conversation was interrupted when Michiru's phone chimed for a text. "Damn, Joe says they found some vamps that have been harassing a neighborhood. We need to get ready."

"Already? It's only 3:00."

"He says it's bad. Ugh. Ever since that vamp broke the treaty in the college it seems like all hell broke loose." Michiru was furious. "I hope you're ready, Haruka, there's a war coming."

Haruka was angry at the mistake she made. "Alright, let's get ready." She knew it was her fault for everything happening now.

"Joe wants us to meet him at his house before the three of us head out." Michiru said and went to retrieve the Kris from its keepsake box. "Ready to go?" She asked Haruka as she walked to the front door.

"Ah yeah, just one more thing." Haruka followed Michiru to the door.

"What's that?" Michiru asked the blonde girl approaching her.

Haruka wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and picked her up with a passionate kiss. "Be careful."

"I'll be fine, I have you with me now."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka drove her car to Joe's house with directions from Michiru. He lives in a small house down an old dirt road. On the side of the house is an old barn that seems to be falling apart. His property is entirely fenced in with a gate that leads to his driveway. Michiru got out and opened the gate as Haruka continued to look at the property. It looked like something from a scary movie. The dead trees all around it intensified the creepy feeling one would get while looking at it.

"I bet he doesn't get many visitors." Haruka said as Michiru reentered the car.

"Not really. Alright, just pull up over there." Michiru pointed next to the creepy barn.

"This place gives me the creeps." Haruka said as she parked her car.

"It gives everyone the creeps."

Joe had already opened the door on the side of the house the second they parked. The two girls walked in and found he had a few books out and a map of the neighborhood they were going to be heading to. In the living room was a desk in the corner with books strewn all over it and bottles of whiskey as well.

"Alright." Joe began and looked at the two girls and, as usual, he gave Haruka the glare she had become used to. He put his finger over a few houses. "I don't know what the hell they are doing but Maggie and John said they've enthralled these people. I think they are just screwing around because for all these years they've had shit to do. Now that some fool broke the treaty they think they own the whole damn place. Maggie says there's only two of them, lucky us. John says they are staying in this house here." Joe sighed before he continued. "We have to be extra careful tonight, there are civilians at risk."

"How are we supposed to get them to come out? Are we just going to invade that house?" Haruka scratched the back of her neck.

"They don't like it when hunters enter their territory. They'll know when we are there." He turned his gaze at Haruka. "Don't fuck up."

"Joe! What's your problem with her?"

He mumbled a few words under his breath. "Nothing. Let's go, we're taking my car."

Both girls sat next to each other in this back of his car. Haruka took one of Michiru's hands as they rode quietly to the neighborhood. "He hates me." She whispered to the smaller girl.

"I don't think he does." Michiru whispered back.

"He doesn't trust me." The blonde continued whispering.

"No, don't worry." Michiru silenced Haruka with a kiss that was interrupted when Joe cleared his throat loudly. "He can be annoying though." She whispered back to Haruka and both girls giggled.

"We're almost there. Hope you girls are ready." Joe spoke loudly to interrupt the whispering in the backseat. They pulled into the neighborhood and sat for a while. "We'll wait until it gets a bit darker before we start snoopin'. Keep your eyes open for anything weird."

Haruka moved to the other side of the car and looked around. She rolled the window down a bit and tried to focus on the outside surroundings so she could hear everything better. Her ears picked up bits of conversations out of normal ear shot. Nothing seemed out of place until she set sight on a person she had no doubt was under the control of one of the vampires. "There." She whispered. "He's different from the rest."

Joe pulled out his binoculars to observe the person Haruka had pointed out. "God damn." He whispered. "We might make a hunter out of you yet." The sun began to set behind the trees in the back of the neighborhood. "Now the fun is about to begin. Let's go."

The three of them got out of the car and closed the doors. They took a slow walk around the neighborhood. Michiru was latched onto Haruka's arm as she usually was when they walked. The night grew colder as time went by. Haruka continued to listen to her surroundings as they walked and she suddenly stopped. The sudden stop startled Michiru and she looked at Haruka. The blonde stood with her eyes closed as she listened closely to something the other two could not hear.

"What is it, Ruka?" Michiru whispered.

"Shh." Haruka commanded.

"Oh, look, the humans have come to get us." She could hear a Lilin speaking from a distance. This one was definitely a male.

"You would think they would just leave us alone and let us enjoy some fun." A female spoke.

"Let's just get them by surprise." The male spoke again.

Joe had turned to see the two girls had stopped walking as well. "Why did you stop, let's get going."

Haruka heard the footsteps approaching. They were very faint to the point that Michiru and Joe heard nothing. She shook Michiru off of her arm and opened her eyes. One of the Lilin was approaching behind Joe. Haruka darted forward and pushed Joe to the side right as the male was about to make a snack out of him. The female was nowhere in sight and Haruka looked around for her.

"Michelle." She said as she fought off the male attacker. She purposely used the alias 'Michelle' as she did not want the Lilin to hear her real name. "There's a second one somewhere. I don't know where she went."

"You're too good." He spoke as he tried to grapple onto Haruka's neck.

Michiru looked desperately around for the female but she was nowhere in sight. "I can't find her, Haruka."

"Haruka, what a strange name." The Lilin fighting the blonde said as they exchanged a few blows.

It was that statement that made Haruka realize he knew who she was. He threw a punch at her and she swiftly grabbed his hand and hurled him over her shoulder. "Michelle, now." She pinned him to the ground as Michiru drew her blade.

"No!" He screamed as the blade tore into his stomach. "You can't hide for long!" His eyes glared at Haruka as he spoke. "Curse you!" His voice was drowned out as the final stream of red was drawn from his body and shattered into dust.

"Where's the female?" Haruka stood quickly. Joe had been looking around for her as the two girls fought off the male.

"I don't know where she is." Joe said. "It's possible she may have ran when she realized we had that weapon. Maybe she's left for good. Let's get going before something happens." The three ran back to Joe's car. It had been vandalized by a few people standing around it. They all turned to the party advancing to the car. "Fuck!" Joe yelled. "We need to hoof it! Quickly, follow me." The humans that were under the control of the Lilin all laughed and continued to puncture some holes in the tires as the three sped off into the night. Joe made a quick phone call as they ran.

"Maggie, I need you to come get us. My car was vandalized and we've got ghouls on our trail and a vamp somewhere. Yeah. We're at Elder Spring Rode. Twenty minutes? I need you here in five!"

They continued to run until they found an old down shack in the middle of a forest. Joe looked out a broken window to make sure they were not followed. Haruka sat on the floor silently to focus on her surroundings. The wind blew a few leaves around but she could not hear any footsteps. Michiru looked out another window to observe the surroundings as well.

"Maggie." Joe picked up his phone as it vibrated in his pocket. "Where are you? We ran to the north into the woods and found a shack. Alright, nothing around you? We'll be out." He hung up his phone and turned to the girls. Haruka was still in the floor with her eyes closed and Michiru was looking out a window. "Maggie is here, let's go."

They walked a few minutes until they came to the rode where Maggie's car was parked. Haruka remembered her from the warehouse she was the woman that wanted to get rid of the Lilin. Joe took the front seat and the girls took the backseat.

"Haruka." Michiru whispered once they were on their way to safety. "You know, you are too smart for your own good."

"What do you mean?"

"The fact that you remembered and knew to use the name 'Michelle' surprised me but I know why you did it."

"It only made sense." Haruka smirked. "What was that word you used to describe the humans that were under the vampire's control?"

"Ghoul." Joe replied from the front seat.

"I see." Haruka took Michiru's hand in hers as she had done earlier.

"It's going to be hell getting my car back from that place." Joe was irritated as he spoke to Maggie.

"Don't worry, we got a few cops on our side that can get it safely in the morning." Maggie replied.

"If it's still there." Joe cursed under his breath.

They soon arrived back to Joe's house. The darkness made it look even creepier than before. Haruka shuddered as they pulled into the driveway. They departed from Joe's house and went back home.

"You see, Haruka. It's very dangerous what we do. That was only a small example as to what goes on." Michiru said once they had settled for the night to sleep.

"Yeah, that was scary." Haruka stretched out in the bed as she got comfortable. Benny had taken a spot at the end of the bed.

"You're really good though. You got Joe out of the way before he could be bitten. He'll give you hell for a while because you saved him but that's just because it's how he is." Michiru cuddled up to Haruka. "I feel much safer with you around when we go out at night." She gave Haruka a kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Michi."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day Haruka sat with her mother. She had forgotten to join her the day before for her daily feeding. Angeline hassled her about missing it and reminded her she needs to be careful. Missing one or two is fine but anymore has its consequences.

"Haruka." Her mother said as they had their daily chit chat. "It was has been brought to my attention that you were found with some humans that were hunting us last night."

Haruka's heart sank. The female Lilin that had escaped no doubt had ratted her out. "All the better to get the upper hand in the upcoming war, do you not think so? They have no idea who I am." Haruka sipped on her goblet hoping her quick save would help her dodge a bullet. Who was she betraying more now, her mother or her girlfriend? Her life continued to grow more and more complicated with each passing day.

Angeline sat quietly for a moment pondering what Haruka had just said. "I think you're on to something. Maybe you can figure out what they are using to kill us." Her mother smiled as it seemed she had the upper hand in the dispute with the humans now.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

This chapter skips ahead a bit more than the others. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy. I'll get started on the next one now.

Chapter 8

After leaving her mother's mansion Haruka found herself mindlessly driving around town on her bike. She was desperately in search of a quiet place to be alone for a while. Michiru never asked her about how her visits went with her mother and Haruka never spoke much of them either.

Haruka found herself at a place she would visit when she needed to be alone. She parked her bike in the park she, Michiru, and Blake had visited when it snowed back in December. A light breeze blew through her hair when she removed her helmet and she took a deep breath. _'What have I got myself into?'_ She thought silently to herself as she walked down one of the many nature trails that weaved into the pack of the park. Her path eventually found a river that divided the park from the rest of the forest. The trail followed the river and Haruka finally found a nice quiet place to sit and think.

She thought of the argument with her father during her birthday dinner and then when they got back to the house. Was it too soon for her to make the arrangements with Michiru? All her life she outcast herself and even more so after a particular event had occurred. The moment she began to open up to someone her entire world crashed. _'I wish I could tell you the truth, Michiru.'_ She thought as she gazed up at the sun that would soon set within the hour. It took all her strength to fight back tears as she thought about the lie she was living.

Her thoughts soon turned to the mysterious stranger in her father's living room. The night she had been attacked by him was far from a dream at this point. He was trying to warn her about something but she was unsure of what. She drew her fingers in the dirt underneath where she sat. _'Everything is so fucked up.'_ Any further thoughts were interrupted when her phone chimed a text message.

_Hope everything is okay, it's getting late. Miss you. – Michiru_

Her lips formed a smile as she read the message but soon turned to a frown when she remembered her dilemma. _'I'm sorry I'm hiding things from you.'_ Michiru had told Haruka just about everything there was to tell about herself. With a sigh Haruka stood and walked slowly back to her bike.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"SURPRISE!" Michiru and Blake both screamed the moment Haruka entered the house she now shared with Michiru. They had put up a huge 'Happy Birthday' sign on one of the walls and the scent of fresh baked cake lingered throughout the air.

"Oh guys." Haruka blushed as Michiru ran up to her and jumped into her arms. Benny scrambled around on the floor jumping up on Haruka's leg.

"Oooh, should I close my eyes? Or should I watch?" Blake could not help himself to say as Michiru locked lips with the blonde. "How about I just, uh, go in the kitchen?"

"And here I thought you forgot." Haruka spoke once their lips parted. Michiru had wrapped her legs around Haruka's waist. "I kind of like this position." The blonde smirked as she squeezed the buttocks she was holding.

"At least wait until Blake is gone, Ruka." The smaller girl said playfully.

"Alright, I can wait. Do I smell cake?"

"Blake helped me bake it." Michiru released her hold around Haruka's neck and lowered herself back to the floor. "Let's have some cake."

"Ah, should I be scared?" Haruka took a cheap shot at Michiru's cooking abilities as they walked into the kitchen.

Blake had lit up the candles already and stood behind the cake with a goofy grin. The cake was coated with strawberry icing and an arrangement of sprinkles. Clearly, Michiru had taken part in the baking as the middle had sunk in a small bit. Haruka chuckled at the cake and, for a moment, forgot about all her worries.

"Thanks guys. It really means a lot to me." Haruka said as she approached the cake. The two sang 'Happy Birthday' which made her blush. She knelt down to satisfy the small dog on the floor by picking him up. "You guys are really great." Benny licked her cheek the moment he was within reach.

"How big of a piece do you want Haruka?" Blake asked as he steadied the knife over the cake.

"Uh, I'll take piece of the corner I guess."

"Like this?" He placed the knife over a portion.

"Yeah."

Michiru had disappeared while Blake cut the cake. Haruka took no notice of the absence as she picked up the plate and ate a bite. The room the filled with a beautiful tune as the aqua haired girl returned playing her violin. Haruka's eyes glowed with happiness as she set sight on Michiru.

"It was beautiful." Haruka spoke with a smile. "Just like you."

"Oh, Haruka." Michiru blushed at the statement.

"Ahem." Blake broke up the moment as he cleared his throat. "How much do you want, Michiru?"

"A piece about the same size as hers."

They ate their cake all the while talking reminiscing on past events that happened in college. After a while Michiru took out a box she had wrapped in old Christmas paper. "I didn't have any birthday wrapping paper, but it still does the job."

"I told you that you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but I wanted to."

Haruka tore the paper off the box and opened it slowly unsure of what could be concealed within. Inside the box was a beautiful black tuxedo complete with a crimson colored vest. "Michi, how much did you spend on this?"

"Oh, don't worry about the price. I love your white tuxedo and I figured you would look great in this one as well."

"Thanks." Haruka motioned for her girlfriend to come to her and Michiru obeyed. "But you really didn't have to get me anything." She whispered as she kissed the soft lips.

"Awkward." Blake mumbled from his corner of the kitchen.

"Oh hush." Haruka opened one eye to glare at him as she kissed Michiru.

"Ahem." He interrupted the two lovers as he cleared his throat again. "Here, Haruka." He handed her a smaller box.

"You know I don't like receiving gifts."

"Tough shit."

"What's in it?" She shook the box. "I don't trust you."

"I'll give you a hint: it vibrates."

"WHAT?" Haruka nearly screamed.

"I'm kidding, just open it!"

As she opened it she glared at him unsure if he really was joking or not. Inside was a silk crimson colored tie that matched the vest of the tuxedo perfectly. "Well, you two certainly planned this whole thing out. I really had no idea."

"You mean I don't get a kiss?" Blake had to dodge the box the tie had been taken out of as Haruka hurled it at him. "Alright, I'll just keep dreaming." He looked at his watch. "I should get going, it's getting late. I'm sure you two want to be alone, eh? Eh? Well don't have too much fun without me!" He walked to the front door to get his jacket.

"Thanks for coming over, Blake." Michiru said as he put his jacket on.

"Hey, anything for my two favorite girls. Happy Birthday, again, Haruka."

"See you tomorrow. Thanks again." Haruka said as he left.

Michiru closed the door and turned to the blonde that was now sitting on the couch in the living room. Something about Haruka seemed a bit different and Michiru approached her. "Hey, everything alright?"

"Oh yeah." Haruka lied. "I was just thinking. You know when I got my bike last week?"

"I remember."

"Well, when my mother gave it to me she told me something."

"What's that?" Michiru sat on the couch and took Haruka's hand in hers.

"My birthday is actually on the 27th of January."

"Wait, why is that?"

Haruka sighed. She wondered if it might be a mistake telling Michiru why. "When I asked my father about my mother he told me a man had delivered me to his doorstep. The man told him that my mother didn't want me. He wasn't sure of my birthday so he made it the day he received me."

"I don't understand. If your mother didn't want you then why did she suddenly reappear out of nowhere?" Michiru was clearly in deep thought as she asked.

"She said someone took me from her and she had originally intended to raise me." This was the first time Haruka had discussed anything her mother had said with Michiru. "None of us understand why that happened."

"I wish I knew. It doesn't make sense why anyone would take you. Clearly, whoever took you knew your father."

"Yeah. I guess I might never know who took me-or why."

Michiru sat quietly as though trying to put a puzzle together in her head. She played with Haruka's hand as she thought to herself. "That's just so odd."

"I try not to think about it much. Things happen in life and we have no control over it."

"If you say so." She continued to play with Haruka's hand by lacing their fingers together over and over. Haruka was a bit nervous after she had told Michiru the truth about her birthday.

"How about I try on my birthday present?" Haruka quickly tried to divert the conversation to something else.

"I'll wait here." Michiru released the hand that was in her possession and Haruka went to change.

Surprisingly enough the suit was a perfect fit. Haruka admired the suit in the mirror for a moment before she put the tie on. This suit did not hide her feminine curves as well as her white one did. The crimson colored vest under the coat was beautiful. Michiru was still sitting on the couch when Haruka returned. A smile spread across the shorter girl's face the instant she saw Haruka.

"You look stunning." Michiru stood from the couch and placed a hand on Haruka's shoulder.

"How did you get one that fit so nicely?"

"That's a secret." Michiru winked at Haruka and ran her hand to the tie around the blonde's neck and pulled her close. "I think you can take it off now." Their lips met after Michiru whispered into Haruka's ear.

"I just put all that effort into putting it on though." Haruka pulled back and looked into Michiru's eyes.

"I don't care." Michiru tightened her grip on the red tie and pulled her back in for another kiss.

"Then you can take it off." The blonde spoke through the kiss.

"Gladly." Michiru began to push Haruka back into the room they shared and pulled the door closed leaving the small dog outside. Her feet were swept up from beneath her as Haruka picked her up. "Bit feisty today?"

"Mm." Haruka mumbled and placed the smaller girl on the bed. The tie around her neck was soon in the clutches of Michiru again as she pulled Haruka with her further onto the bed.

"That suit is such a turn on." Michiru whispered as she began to strip the girl on top of her. Their bare bodies soon clashed as each tried to dominate the other. Haruka's hands traveled along the hourglass figure of her girlfriend as she relearned every curve. It was Haruka whom won the dominance battle as she had managed to pin the smaller girl down beneath her. The blonde's hands began to roam to Michiru's chest. The arousal of the smaller girl grew as Haruka moved her mouth to the breasts of her girlfriend. "Haruka." Michiru moaned as Haruka began to move her lips down the stomach of the girl beneath her. More moans began to escape the smaller girl as Haruka put her fingers and tongue to work below Michiru's waist. She knew Michiru would soon reach her release when her back arched up a bit from the bed. There it was- Michiru finally let out a moan that sounded like Haruka's name. Haruka swiftly glided back up to the lips of her lover and felt the arms of the smaller girl wrap around her.

There was no resistance as Haruka became Michiru's target. No doubt Haruka knew the pleasure she received was on a much higher level than what Michiru would ever experience. She grasped the pillow as she usually did and covered her face. The pillow was removed and tossed to the floor. "I want to hear every sound you make." Michiru said as she reached for the second pillow and tossed it to the floor out of Haruka's reach as well. "No hiding it this time." She started from the beginning taking extra special care to each sensitive spot of the blonde's body. For the first time the sounds of pure ecstasy Haruka felt were not muffled and Michiru enjoyed every second of it as she brought Haruka to a screaming orgasm.

Haruka was gasping for air as Michiru gazed into her eyes. A few sweat droplets had found home around the blonde hair on her forehead. "Maybe I should wear that suit more often." Haruka grinned mischievously still breathing heavily.

"Is it possible I've worn you out more than your daily jog? Damn, I must be good." Michiru kissed Haruka softly. The moment was interrupted when they heard a whimper from outside the bedroom door. Both girls giggled together as they heard the dog whining. "Are you going to let him in?"

"He'll be fine by himself tonight. His bed is in the living room." Haruka wiped the sweat off her forehead with her wrist and retrieved the two pillows on the floor. She rejoined Michiru in bed and rolled on her side away from Michiru which she had never done before. Usually she embraced the smaller girl but this time she felt Michiru wrap an arm over her and move closer. Haruka lay silently until Michiru fell asleep. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought of the betrayal Michiru knew nothing about.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Fortunate enough for Haruka the next few weeks passed and her mother had not given her many orders regarding her work with the people hunting them. Unfortunately for Haruka, though, she had to spill a few things that happened on the human side to her mother. Never once did she mention the girl she was romantically involved with was one of the hunters nor had she ever spoken Michiru's name or her alias to her mother either. One warning she received from her mother was none of her clan mates are to be killed if at all preventable. Haruka was not able to prevent all the deaths of the Lilin that followed the order by her mother but she did manage to let a few escape.

Haruka's biggest secret was still kept and each day it seemed more and more unbearable. She had recently revealed what was killing the Lilin to Angeline. Her mother was intrigued by what Haruka told her of the dagger and wanted her to find a way to take it. This pained Haruka even more – to steal from the woman she loved. She had become a better actress as each day went by and had managed to fool everyone around her all the while growing to hate herself.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Hey." Brenda had approached Haruka as the team prepared for their first track meet. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Haruka knew perfectly well she needed no luck. "Good luck to you too."

Michiru watched as Haruka approached the start line for a 200 meter dash. Both Michiru and Haruka were confident she would break the college record today. Haruka took her position with the rest of the runners and the race started. The women took off and Haruka was in the lead with the first stride. The entire crowed seemed to hold their breath as the runners tried to catch up with the speedy blonde in the front. As fast as the race seemed to start it ended. A few people whispered to each other as the time was revealed. 19 seconds even.

"Did she just break the world record?" A man whispered to another man where Michiru sat.

"I think she broke the men's record too." A woman joined in on the conversation.

"Is that possible?"

Michiru sat quietly as she listened to the people whisper. Haruka looked around from the field and the announcement was made. Haruka Tenoh had broken a world record. Michiru's eyes bulged out of her skull at the news. Everyone went wild. As Haruka returned to her teammates they were all blown away by the accomplishment. Her coach approached her.

"Haruka, I don't know how you did that but everyone's going to be talking about you soon. Wow. I'm truly speechless."

Haruka stood quietly while her team congratulated her. She felt a bit guilty for the reason behind why she had broken it but her life was not fair. Why should she play fair?

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Mother." Haruka visited Angeline after the track meet later in the day.

"What is it, Haruka?"

"They said I broke a world record earlier at my track meet. I'm worried about the exposure I'll receive."

"Oh, darling. Remember what I said? Embrace your heritage. Why not enjoy the exposure? It will only be for a little while then everything will die down and return to normal."

"It wasn't just that I broke a world record today, I also broke the men's record as well."

"That is expected, you are a Lilin after all."

"Should I feel guilty?"

"Why should you feel guilty? You were born special."

"I suppose."

"Do you have any news of the weapon? How goes your quest to retrieve it?"

"Well," Haruka sat with her hands in her lap and tapper her fingers together. "I'm not exactly sure where they keep it." She lied. "I'm still the newest hunter in the group so they have a few trust issues still." That was not a lie. Joe clearly did not trust her.

"I need that weapon as soon as possible before anymore of my kin are killed." Angeline had a serious expression on her face as she spoke about the dagger.

"I might have to devise a plan to somehow get it when I'm out with them. I won't be able to find the hiding spot they keep it in, though."

"Very well. You're the only one I can trust with this task. You blend so well with them and they really have no idea."

"I will try my best to help protect the Lilin."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day in the college a local news crew had gathered.

"Michiru." Haruka whispered as she tried to dodge the people. "I'm unsure of this."

"Oh, come on. Have fun. Life is short. We, of all people know that."

"I know."

"There she is!" Their conversation was interrupted as a microphone was thrust into her face. Michiru backed off a bit while Haruka was interviewed.

"How did it feel to break a world record?"

"Ah well, it was unexpected." Haruka was nervous. She had not thought about anyone being at the college to talk to her about it.

"We also heard you beat the men's record as well. That's amazing!"

"Well, I train hard everyone morning and eat right."

"How old are you Ms. Tenoh?" They continued to flood her with questions.

"I just turned twenty." Haruka shot a worried glance at Michiru whom stood away from the crowd. Question after question- it never seemed to stop. Haruka could feel her cheeks redden the more she was interviewed. She was finally relieved when her coach appeared and took over the interview. Haruka and Michiru made a quick escape before anyone would notice.

"Michi, I don't know if I will be able to deal with all this exposure. I'm just here for a free ride in college." Haruka spoke to Michiru once they were far away from the news crew.

"Why don't you live your dream?"

"My dream is racing, racing cars. This is fun and, I mean, I might be able to-" Their conversation was interrupted as a second crew approached them from another channel. This was going to be a long day. Haruka had to dodge different crews throughout the day. It seemed the more it spread the more insane everyone grew. She had grown into a celebrity in the college over night. When finally she thought she had a break from everything her phone rang. It was her father.

"Hello?"

_"Haruka! I just saw you on the news. You're on every channel!"_

Haruka scowled. "I've been dodging every news crew known to man today."

_"That's amazing!" Her father was ecstatic._

"Thanks. I just, ugh, I don't want this attention. What if they follow me home? I'm a very private person."

_"Just try to leave unnoticed if you can. You really don't want them to follow you home and see where you live."_

"Yeah. Well, I just managed to get a minute to myself. Michiru and I are going to try to get home quickly before I'm ambushed again. I gotta go before they find us."

_"Alright, talk to you later."_

The call ended. Haruka felt like it would be mission impossible trying to get to her car unnoticed. The two girls snuck around the large campus for a few minutes. Most of the crews had left already. "I think we're in the clear." Haruka whispered to Michiru as they exited one of the buildings and made their way to the parking lot. "I don't see anyone." The couple managed to successfully sneak into Haruka's car without being seen. "Michi," Haruka turned to her girlfriend in the passenger's seat. "do you think it's going to be worse tomorrow? That was just the local news. The second it goes international it's going to go out of control. You know how I am. I don't like my life to be broadcast everywhere."

"I know. Let's go before someone sees us."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day was just as bad, if not worse and to top it off Michiru had caught a cold. Every single news channel wanted to get a glimpse of the woman that broke the men's world record in the 200m dash. The news crews slowly stopped pursuing her in the college and she found a new threat. Her coach began to get flooded with phone calls from Olympic scouts and other people. A few magazines wanted to get a picture and do their own interviews with the record breaker.

Each night Haruka went home and took care of Michiru. The cold came suddenly over night but Michiru was soon getting better.

"I could get used to this." Michiru said as Haruka brought her something to eat in bed.

"I'll do anything I can to make my girl feel better." Haruka sat in the bed with Michiru as she ate her breakfast. "Are you feeling any better?"

"I think I'll be able to go back to school soon."

"I'm a bit tired of everything going on there. Now there are people from magazines wanting to talk to me and get some pictures. I don't know what to do. I just want a normal life."

"Our lives are anything but normal, Ruka." Michiru said and coughed a bit.

"Maybe if I just give them what they want I will be left alone. Well, I need to get ready for classes." Haruka dug through the closet to find something to wear for the day. "Alright, Benny." She knelt down next to the small dog in the room after changing. "Take care of Michi."

"He's been doing a very good job." Michiru said and called for the dog to join her on the bed.

"Okay, time to go." Haruka kissed the smaller girl on the cheek and left for the day.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

With Michiru out of the picture Brenda finally decided to make her move…

"Hey, Haruka." The brunette greeted Haruka in the locker room.

"Hey." Haruka had just finished getting ready for her jog. Brenda approached Haruka to talk about her recently gained fame.

"Must be pretty exciting being all over the news."

"Not really. I don't like my life being spread all over every channel known to man-kind." Haruka attempted to walk pass Brenda but her path was blocked. "Do you need something?"

"I'm tired of this." Brenda sighed.

"Excuse me?"

"What's so special about Michiru?"

"What does it matter to you?" Haruka was getting a bit upset. "She's a very special person to me. That's all you need to know." She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

"There are other girls too, you know."

Haruka opened her eyes quickly. "Brenda." She said coldly. "There are other girls for you but not for me. I have the one person that makes me complete. So don't make my life any more complicated than it already is."

The brunette sighed and sat down on one of the benches in the locker room. "Your life must be perfect. I envy you. You have a beautiful girl and you've practically become a celebrity here."

"You don't know anything about my life."

"I guess not." Brenda stood and stared Haruka in the eyes.

"Is there something you need?"

Brenda stood silently for a moment in deep thought.

"If you'll excuse me now, I have to get on with my daily routines." Haruka tried to pass Brenda again but was stopped like before. "Brenda-" She was interrupted when Brenda planted a kiss on her lips. "What the fuck Brenda." Haruka pushed the brunette away. "Don't you ever do that again." Haruka's temper was about to boil over. "Just because Michi isn't here with me right now doesn't mean you can try to make a move on me. I'm in love with her not you. I'll ask one last time for you to leave me alone, once and for all."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what it felt like."

"Don't do it again. I'll forget about it if you forget about it. I have enough shit to deal with right now in my life and I don't need you fucking things up."

"Alright. Deleted. Let's pretend it didn't happen."

Haruka was furious at Brenda. She and Michiru had been avoiding kissing each other so as to not spread the illness. Now she wanted more than ever to feel the soft lips of Michiru's on hers.

"Haruka." Coach Roach met Haruka as she left the locker room. "Have you decided on anything? I've got the Olympic recruiter asking about you every day and a magazine that wants to do an article on you."

"I don't want to go on the Olympic team."

The coach was floored by the statement. "You have a great opportunity here. I don't want you to miss out on it."

"I'm sorry Coach Roach, my dream isn't in the Olympics. I'm just here on a scholarship."

"Consider it at least. How about the magazine? They wanted to do a photo shoot and write an article on you."

"I guess I can do that one. Maybe then I will be left alone. When do they want to do it?"

"I can get them on the phone now and they can be here tomorrow."

"Alright. I'm going to go for my jog now."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka sat quietly in the coach's office the next day after classes. The people for the magazine would arrive soon. She looked down at her attire and did a few adjustments. Michiru helped her pick out a nice outfit for the interview and photo shoot. The outfit consisted of a button up white dress shirt and a green tie that brought out her eyes. Over the white shirt she wore a black dress coat complete with green and black plaid dress pants.

'I can't believe I'm going through with this.' She texted Michiru while she waited for the interviewer to arrive.

_'You will do fine. Give them what they want and they will leave you alone.' Michiru replied a minute later._

A knock came from the door and Coach Roach entered the room. "Haruka, they are here."

Haruka put on her best fake smile she could and followed the coach to the gym. A white screen had been place up with lights and a camera in the corner for the pictures to be taken.

"Oh! Ms. Tenoh, over here!" A woman waved for her. The woman's red hair was put in a bun and she had to catch her glasses from falling off as she got Haruka's attention.

"Hi." Haruka approached the woman clad in a beige dress suit.

"How are you today?" She extended her hand for a shake.

"I'm alright." Haruka shook her hand.

"My name is Lacy Schultz. Shall we begin?"

"Yeah." Haruka followed the woman to a couple of chairs that had been set up. Lacy turned on a recording device and began.

"I guess I will start with the basics. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty." The questions the woman had already been asked by every reporter Haruka had encountered.

"How long have you been running?"

"As long as I can remember. I only got serious about it during high school and landed myself a scholarship here."

"I've heard you've got the Olympic recruiters in an uproar. Are you considering joining the team?"

"People will probably call me crazy but I have no intentions on joining."

The reporter paused briefly to pick her jaw up from the floor. "Is there a reason why you don't plan on it?"

"My dream was never to be a runner." Haruka said as coolly as she could.

"If I may, what is your dream?"

"As a child I loved watching races – car races. I dreamt of becoming a professional car racer but when I joined the track team in school I put that dream on hold and focused on being in top shape for running."

"What do your parents think of your recent achievements?"

"My father is very supportive." Haruka had no need to mention her mother.

"And your mother?"

The question Haruka did not want asked. "She died during childbirth." Only a couple people knew Haruka had recently met her mother but the whole world had no reason to know of the woman.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Sometimes things happen in life and you have no control over them. I've always been a believer that everything happens for a reason and I don't question it. Find the good in the bad and make the best of the situation." Haruka smiled her stunning smile that would bring any woman to her knees. The interview went on for a few more minutes and soon she found herself standing in front of the white screen as a photographer snapped a few pictures. The college had nearly emptied of all the occupants when the photo shoot had been wrapped up. Haruka was told she would receive a copy of the magazine at the college once it was published.

Haruka changed into something more comfortable the moment the interview was over. Night had fallen and the college seemed like a ghost town. The parking lot was clear and not another person was in sight. She approached her car and tossed in the bag with her interview clothes. "I hope it's all over now." She whispered to herself. "What a day, what a week." Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps approaching her. "I don't really have the time for another interv-" She stopped when she turned and saw the person behind her.

"Hey there hot stuff. Miss me?" The man's voice was very deep.

"Ah… Ju.." Haruka stared at the man that had approached her.

"Do you know how long I've waited? Five years." He stepped closer. "Five years." He said again.

"Justin."

The man stood in front of her wearing a white wife beater. His arms were a living canvas of tattoos. "You still remember me? I knew I'd leave a lasting impression on you."

"Go away." Was the only warning she would give the man.

"Now now. That's something I won't do. You see, I think I clearly remember telling you that if you ever told anyone about that night I had with you I would- do what?" He put his hand to his ear as he waited for a response from the blonde girl in front of him. "Cat got your tongue? I said I would kill you. No. I said I would fucking kill you. Now I've spent five years in prison and each day I marked off the calendar in my head until I got out. I spent a couple months trying to find you but when I saw your name all over the news and your picture everywhere I knew where to find you. Now look, we're all alone in a parking lot, at night, and no one around to hear you scream."

"I won't warn you again, leave me alone and get lost. And I never told the cops anything."

"Either way, it was because of you I got arrested anyways." He withdrew a pocket knife. "Now where should I start? Maybe where I left off before? Maybe I should start all over again. Damn, I never knew you could get any more attractive." He said as he undressed her with his eyes. "You're still the best fuck I've ever had."

Haruka dread the day she would run into him again, if she ever did. She had always imagined she would be more frightened than anything but she had a new card up her sleeve now. This man was a fool and had no idea what she was capable of now. "Shut up." Haruka glared into his eyes.

He approached her and put his knife to her neck. "What's that I smell- cologne? Don't tell me I turned you into a lesbian."

"I've always been one." As Haruka spoke she could feel the blade over her neck. This time she would make him suffer for what he did to her. He towered over her by inches. "You're going to regret this night." She shoved him back with the strength of two men.

"I love it when a woman is so dominating." He said as he picked himself up from the ground.

Haruka glared into his eyes. She remembered the fear she felt the night he took her into the hotel. That fear was gone and now replaced with a burning hatred.

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Same color they've always been." She approached him but he did not move an inch.

"Get away from me." He began to shake as though he was frozen in the spot.

"Oh, but it was you that approached me." Haruka cocked her head to the side a bit to observe the trembling man in front of her. His knife fell to the ground as she took another step closer.

"I'm sorry." He began to beg.

"What's that?" Haruka felt in control over the situation. Little did she know her pupils had reformed into serpent like slits. Her hatred for the man in front of her made her project the same fear she felt five years ago into his own being.

"I'm sorry."

"I can't hear you." She was within inches from the man.

"I'm…. sorry."

"Begging won't help you now." Her carnal desire took over as she opened her mouth and revealed the fangs she hid. The fangs sank deep into his neck and instead of simply drinking the liquid she tore at his skin with her teeth. She tore the flesh off of his neck with each bite. He finally fell to the ground in shock. His neck looked as though an animal had devoured it. Blood ran over the pavement as his heart kept pumping. Haruka looked down at her clothing. She, too, was covered in the crimson liquid. Slowly the man on the ground stopped breathing and the blood flow slowed. Haruka knelt down next to him to take a final look at the face that haunted her nightmares.

"Now no woman will ever have to worry about you." She stood and removed her shirt to clean herself of the blood. She had no choice but to change into the interview clothes she had packed away and made a quick escape.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Chapter 9

Haruka had known very well what she had just done. Did she feel remorse? She had taken a human life and knew it. But she had aided Michiru in the deaths of a few Lilin as well. What was the difference? That man was pure evil and prison had done a number on him. Many people would feel regrets toward that action but Haruka felt nothing. She questioned why she felt no remorse. Was it because her Lilin blood was beginning to change her in ways she did not know?

She pulled into the garage at her mother's mansion and proceeded in with her blood drenched clothing in hand. There were some things she knew she could trust Angeline with and others she knew she could not.

"Mother." Haruka approached Angeline.

"Hello, darling." Angeline looked down at the blood soaked clothing in Haruka's grip. "What's that you have there?" She perked a brow.

"I killed a man." Haruka had no shame in her voice.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. Did anyone see?" The tone in Angeline's voice was calm and a bit uncaring toward the death of a human.

"No, we were alone."

"What happened? Alexander, take these clothes and dispose of them." She motioned for her right hand man.

Haruka sat down and crossed one leg over the other. "It all started five years ago…" She had never thought she would tell anyone else the story except for Michiru. This time when she recalled the story she said without any tears. Michiru had helped her come a long way mentally. Or was it something else inside of her changing?

"I'm sorry to hear that." Angeline was upset when the story had finished.

"When he approached me I could just feel all my hatred for him come out and I couldn't help myself. Aren't I supposed to be upset by it? I took a man's life and I feel no guilt."

"Dear, it's in your blood to prey on humans. We've all killed a human in our lifetime. The more you grow the more your body makes changes. Mental changes as well."

"That's just… strange. I guess it was my hatred for him?" Haruka questioned the action out loud.

"That had play in it. How did you get covered in so much blood?"

"I was so angry that when I bit him I tore his flesh apart. I couldn't stop myself I wanted him to suffer as I did."

"Well, from the sounds of it I don't think it will be traced to one of our kills. That's a good thing. Just be careful in the future. I have no doubt in my mind that this is a onetime thing. Don't let your hatred for anyone consume you again. You're still learning about yourself and your strengths."

"There was something else too." Haruka cracked her knuckles a bit. "When I approached him it was almost like he suddenly couldn't move. All I could see was fear in his eyes. It felt good and strange at the same time."

Angeline listened closely as Haruka told her of the fear that she projected. "That's fascinating." Her mother tapped her chin deep in thought. "I haven't heard of a Lilin doing that for centuries."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, different Lilin have different. Hmm. Powers? Abilities? They mostly stay within certain bloodlines. That's one thing I'm not sure you have tapped into yet."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, my clan has always been able to charm people into doing things for them. That is, without even enthralling them. Think of something along the lines of…" Angeline thought to herself for a moment unsure if Haruka would understand her. "Have you ever heard the myths of succubi and incubi?"

"Suck you who?"

"Succubi. They were in old myths. They appeared in the dreams of men and fed off their sexual desires within their dreams. As time went on the myths changed. They were once thought to be hideous hags and now are thought to be beautiful seductresses. Now, now, that's a myth, old folklore. But as they say, every rumor is started from some basis of truth. To get back to the point- our clan line has always had a charm, much like a succubus of legend. Put that charm on and the person becomes overly sexually attracted to you and will obey simple things. Not as powerful as enthralling someone, but it has its purpose."

"Well, that's nice to know." Haruka wondered if she had done this to Michiru. Surely she had not. "How do you know when it works?"

"They get this glow in their eyes as though they are completely in love with you."

Haruka pondered what Angeline had just told her. "I hope that isn't the case with my girlfriend."

"You will know the difference between fake love and real love. From what you said about her you have put no charm on her." Her mother smiled reassuringly. "It's just interesting you have the ability to project fear. These things are only found to be passed down only in the bloodlines."

"My father _is_ human, right?"

"Trust me, he's more human than most. Intelligent man, don't get me wrong, but he believed me when I created the lie that I was merely embracing the life style of a 'vampire'." She motioned quotation marks with her fingers when she said 'vampire'. "He was handsome and I was bored with everything else. It was fun. Then when I got pregnant I panicked. How did a human get me pregnant?"

"Eh. Please don't tell me any sex stories." Haruka cringed.

Angeline cackled. "I won't. I don't think you could handle those stories from me."

Haruka shivered again and tried to erase the mental image that had formed in her head. "Do you think anyone will be able to pin the kill on me?" Haruka desperately needed to think of something else.

"No. If you were alone, you're fine."

"Alright, I need to get home. My girl has had a cold lately and I've been taking care of her."

"Take care, love. And if any trouble does arise from your incident I have my sources that can take care of it. Oh, and Haruka. Don't forget about that dagger, I need you to get it for me."

"The next hunt we go on, I will try to get it without them realizing it was me." Haruka turned to leave and felt a knot in her throat. She could not put it off any longer as Angeline was growing suspicious of her loyalties.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka made dinner for Michiru that night. Michiru was looking and feeling much better. In the morning Haruka turned on the TV curious to see if anyone had found the body from the night before. Michiru joined her on the couch and rested her head on Haruka's lap. The stories were still full of the recent achievement Haruka had accomplished and people were speculating as to how she had managed to do so. The news finally came – a body was found at the college.

'It appears to look as though a wild animal might have approached the man from the forest. Speculations have been made that he tried to fight off the attacker but he dropped his knife. It is unknown still as to what animal might have done this.' A news anchor spoke on the television. The scene was covered with a huge blanket behind her. 'It makes it a bit more difficult to figure out what animal it was as other animals had picked at the body over night.'

"Wow." Michiru whispered from Haruka's lap. "It seems like even the wildlife is in chaos as well."

"Yeah." Haruka agreed and ran her fingers through the aqua colored hair on her lap. Behind the news anchor Haruka recognized a woman. It was the woman that had picked them up the night Joe's car was vandalized. "Is that Maggie?"

Michiru took a closer observation. "It is Maggie. That's interesting." She sat up and looked closer. "It could be possible it may be a vamp kill. I'll call Joe." She retrieved her phone from their room and returned to the couch. "Let's see if he knows anything." She leaned to Haruka's ear so she could hear both ends of the conversation.

_"Hello?"_

"Joe, are you watching the news?"

_"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Maggie. She's not sure what kind of kill it is. Whatever it is it's not a wild animal and not a vamp either."_

"What could it have been?"

_"I'm not sure, she's calling in another person to investigate it. This is out of our hands since it's not a vamp kill."_

"If you hear anything else, let us know?"

_"I will."_

The call ended and Haruka looked at Michiru questioningly. "Michi, are there other things out there other than just vampires?"

"I told you I was a part of a group that dealt with keeping vampires in check. That's all we do. There are other teams for other things in the world."

"Other… things?"

"Don't worry about it, that's not what we're focused on. We specialize on the vampires and that's all we worry about."

"Great. There are other things that go bump in the night."

"There are. Ruka, thanks for taking care of me. I feel so much better today." Michiru smiled.

"Anything for the one I love." She said and thought about what her mother had said about the 'charm' effect they possessed. Haruka looked into Michiru's eyes questioningly as she made sure that was not the case with her.

"Something in my eyes?" Michiru batted her eye lashes a few times.

"No." Haruka smiled, Michiru had the same look in her eyes she had always had. "But there's something that's bothered me lately."

"What is it?"

"This." Haruka leaned in and kissed the soft lips in front of her.

Michiru pulled away. "I don't want you to get sick."

"I don't care. You look better now."

"Yeah, I guess that means we're going to start going back out with Joe. Something tells me he's going to need our help tonight, especially after the kill last night. I wonder if the vamps are allying themselves with something else in order to get a better stand in the war."

Tonight – tonight was the night Haruka knew she would have to retrieve the Kris that Michiru had. She had to steal from the woman she loved just to keep her mother satisfied. In a way she felt like it may protect Michiru and keep her mother from sending her goons after Michiru.

'In other news, Haruka Tenoh, best known for setting a new world record in the-' Haruka shut off the TV as the news switched back to her.

"I'm really hating all this attention."

"I think it's sexy." Michiru winked.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru was feeling fully restored when the night came. Joe had summoned them to his house that night and they discussed a few things regarding what would be happening.

"First things first. Maggie says they are speculating a werewolf attack on the man from last night." Joe said to both girls.

Haruka gulped. _Seriously, werewolves?_

"Although, they don't know. It's hard to judge from the condition of the body. Other than that we are thinking the vamps are gathering other creatures to help them. Luckily, we managed to find something up our alley." Joe rolled out a map of the area they were going to. "There's only one vampire this time. Again, I have no idea what is going on with the vamps lately." He continued. Haruka knew what it was; the Lilin were deliberately disobeying the orders from Angeline to back off. "This one has been making a home at a night club. At least this time we aren't going to be in a dark neighborhood so my car should be fine. I'm going to be inside the club to see what I can find. I want you girls outside see if you notice anything strange." He traced his finger around the night club and hinted a few spots of interest. "You girls ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." Haruka walked to the front door. Joe had become more accepting of her relationship with Michiru as time went by.

The night club was booming with life. It was a popular place on the weekends and found itself situated off the corner of the town near the edge of a forest. Haruka and Michiru stood outside as they observed people enter and leave. Nothing seemed out of place for a while except the random ghoul every so often – no doubt the Lilin was out and about.

"He's definitely here." Michiru whispered to Haruka as one of the enthralled humans walked past her.

Haruka watched the ghoul walk around in a drunken stupor. "Let's follow her." She motioned at the woman under the Lilin's control. The two girls followed the woman behind the club.

"Ehh, there's my favorite girl there." A man called to the woman as she approached him. No doubt, that was their target. He began to fiercely make out with the woman behind the club.

"Hey!" Haruka called to the man and caught him off guard.

"Oh, look what we have here. I've heard all about the hunters of late." He pushed the woman away and she fell to the ground without the will to get up. "Are you the ones killing us?" He eyed Haruka closely. They knew each other and he also knew of her endeavors on getting the weapon. The entire night was a set up Angeline had been putting together for a while.

Haruka charged at him and sent him back as she planted her fist onto his face. Michiru was waiting for the opportune moment to strike with her weapon. The blonde battled with their target for a few minutes. She purposely let her guard down for him to clock her in the jaw and launch her back a few feet. This was enough to send Michiru to her aid and fight him off as he tried to approach Haruka on the ground. She stayed on the ground acting as though she had taken quite a hit and observed Michiru fight him. Right as the smaller girl was ready to take his life Haruka stood and ran. What was she going to do? She had no idea. The blonde tripped over the woman that had been pushed on the ground before their encounter. It sent her tumbling forward into Michiru and sent the dagger flying in the distance and down a small incline.

"Get the dagger!" Michiru commanded as she continued to fight off the aggressor.

_This is it._ Haruka thought as she charged down the hill and retrieved the weapon. She seized the blade on the ground and tucked it safely into her boot so Michiru would not see it.

"Haruka!" She heard Michiru call for her and charged back up the hill. The Lilin was ready to sink his teeth into her tender neck. Haruka charged at him and separated him from her girlfriend. She landed a roundhouse kick onto his chest and went to make sure Michiru was fine. "No, don't worry about me." Michiru pushed Haruka away. "We can't lose that weapon!" The Lilin had disappeared as Haruka had tried to help Michiru.

They searched for an hour but could not find the weapon anywhere. It was gone. Of course it was, Haruka had it. All the acting she had endured the past couple of months had finally paid off. Michiru was mad beyond belief. "Haruka, you're so damn clumsy!" She yelled for the first time at the blonde.

"I'm sorry, Michiru, I didn't see the woman on the ground."

"I had him! You didn't have to help me. Now we've lost our only defense against the vampires!" She continued to scream at Haruka frantically.

"Let's return in the morning. It's possible we can't find it because it's so dark."

"Haruka." Michiru tried to calm herself. "I can't lose that weapon." She rubbed her forehead.

"We'll come back in the morning. It's too dark to see it. First sight of the sun we'll come back, okay?"

"Alright." Michiru huffed a bit at her frustration. "Joe is going to be pissed if we can't find it."

"We'll find it." Haruka kissed Michiru's forehead but received the cold shoulder as Michiru pushed her away.

"Don't make me make you sleep on the couch tonight." Michiru glared at the girl in front of her. "I'm so pissed at you right now you have no idea. We need to find Joe and tell him what happened."

Haruka sunk her head in shame. The in past couple of days she had been promoted to murderer and thief. She felt more than ever she needed to tell Michiru the truth, even if the truth would cause them to split. It was that feeling alone, the feeling of losing Michiru, which prevented her from speaking the truth.

"Joe." Michiru said coolly as they met the man standing next to his car.

"Did you find anything?" Joe continued to survey the scene.

"We did and we almost had him until…" Michiru took the moment to glare at Haruka. "Until Haruka tripped and ran into me and we lost the weapon."

"You lost what?" Joe's eyes opened wide. "You lost… what!?"

"The dagger." Haruka turned away from Joe.

His face turned red with anger. "I knew taking you with us was a mistake." He shoved the blonde back a few feet and approached her. "Now we have no defense against them!" Their faces were inches away as Haruka allowed him to scream at her. "I can't believe this!" He gripped her shirt in his fists and shook her. "You better find that damn dagger." He continued to shake her.

"Joe, let her go." Michiru tried to butt in before a fight broke out.

"I can't believe this!" He repeated as he let go of her ruffled shirt collar. "You need to find it, Haruka. It's your fault. That dagger has been with us for centuries."

"I will find it." Haruka replied as she fixed her shirt.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka took the couch anyways, she felt too guilty for what she had been tasked to do and could not sleep with Michiru that night. Once she was certain Michiru was asleep she slipped out of the house and went to her father's house. He allowed her to keep the key to his house in case of an emergency. His car was gone, what a surprise. Haruka entered the house and went to the room that was once hers. The few items she was unable to take with her still stood in the same place.

"I fucking hate my life." She said as she sat down on the bed that once belonged to her. She withdrew the dagger from her boot and looked at it. _Maybe I should just end everything now._ She traced her fingers over the smooth side of the blade where the etchings were as she contemplated using the weapon on herself. _No. I can't do that to Michiru. I need to hide it. No way in hell will I give this to my mother. But where should I hide it?_ She looked around the room. Her father had not entered the room since she left-evidence from the dust that had settled down. _There. _She looked at the vent above her old bed. _Who would look in there?_ After a few minutes she managed to get the screws out and she placed it into the shaft and went back home.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Haruka." Michiru was standing in the kitchen when she returned home. "Where were you?" She sipped on a glass of water.

"I just needed some time to myself."

"I'm still mad at you but I realized something."

"What's that?" Their conversation was very soft spoken.

"No matter how mad I am with you I can't sleep alone. I need you by my side." Michiru approached the blonde and embraced her. "Come to bed. I miss you."

"I'm sorry for everything." Haruka returned the hug. "I didn't mean to-"

"I know. It was an accident. We'll find it one day." Michiru tightened her grip on the blonde.

"We'll return in the morning and search again." Haruka ran her hands through the aqua colored hair of the girl in her arms.

Morning soon came and they returned. Haruka knew the weapon would not be there but continued to play the game she was forced into playing. They searched for hours until they gave up. Michiru collapsed on the ground in tears.

"Haruka." She spoke through sobs. "What are we going to do now?" Michiru pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Maybe we should just run away. Leave this whole life behind us. Doesn't it sound nice? I can pursue my dream as a violinist and you can pursue your dream." Michiru buried her face in her knees. "This life is so hard, you know. Most of us are widowed or orphaned."

"Let's run away." Haruka knelt down next to the sobbing girl.

"I wasn't serious. It just sounds nice."

"Maybe we should take a break from everything."

"We can't just take a break."

"Why not? We don't have anything to protect us now." Haruka sat next to the smaller girl on the ground.

"What do you think Joe will say?"

"I think we should lay low for now. For all we know the vampires have that blade now."

"I didn't think of that."

"No doubt they've been trying to get their hands on it for a while."

"Yeah." Michiru looked up and stared off into a distance. "You know what I would like to do?"

"What's that?" Haruka wrapped her arm around Michiru's shoulders to comfort her.

"When we were watching the news yesterday morning on the couch something caught my attention." Michiru looked back at Haruka and smiled. Her eyes had already turned red from crying. "One of the commercials was advertising a huge talent show that would be televised."

"Oh?"

"Maybe, we should just get away from a while. Just for a little while. Maybe I could enter that contest."

"What would Joe think?"

"I don't care anymore. I need time for myself. It would be nice to get away, just the two of us."

"What about school?"

Michiru sighed. "I've been thinking about dropping out to focus on other things. I really have no reason to be there anymore. My mother was hoping I could live a somewhat normal life and that's why I was in college. But, when she died… it was up to me to continue in her footsteps."

"Enter that contest and we'll get away for a couple of days."

"I will. I'll find out what I can about it and we'll leave for a couple days. I won't call Joe until we're gone. I don't want him to guilt me into changing my decision."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru researched the competition for the rest of the day. The closest auditions were in Atlanta, Georgia. Haruka took the time to make a phone call to her mother and tell her about her failure to retrieve the weapon.

_"Hello, darling." Angeline greeted her as usual._

Haruka stood outside on the front porch as she talked. "I was unable to get the weapon last night." She looked around to make sure Michiru would not hear her conversation. "I managed to get it out of their hands for a moment. They were incredibly upset at my clumsiness and told me to back off for a while."

_"Haruka." Her mother sighed on the other side of the phone line._

"I need to lay low after that one."

_Her mother sighed again. "Alright, I don't want them to think you are deceiving them. As soon as the opportunity arises I need you to get that weapon though. Take a few days away from them."_

"I will. I've managed to get convince my girlfriend to enter a talent show so I can get away for a few days myself as well. We'll be in Atlanta."

_"Don't forget what I told you about missing feeds. It's dangerous. You don't want to attack anyone do you?"_

"I'll be fine. It's just a couple days."

_"Maybe you should try to sneak out during the night and find someone to feed off of then."_

"Don't worry, I've got it all worked out. Anyways, I gotta go I can hear her calling me inside the house."

_"I need to discuss something with you when you come over later."_

"Alright."

_"Take care, love."_

Michiru sat at her computer as she looked at plane flights and hotels. They planned to be gone for three days. Haruka silently debated with herself if she would be fine going a few days without needing a feed. She had been doing so well lately controlling herself she was sure she would be fine for a couple of days.

"Alright. We'll fly out on Friday after you're done with practice. The competition is on Saturday and we return Sunday night." Michiru said once she had reserved everything. "Do you think it's a bad idea?" She questioned the blonde that hovered over her shoulder watching her make the reservations.

"No. You deserve a bit of freedom from this life and it's only for a few days. Joe will be fine by himself. It's not like we can do anything right now."

"I get the feeling we should be looking for the weapon though. I feel guilty about the whole situation."

"Michi, we can't just stick our necks into everything and especially now since we don't have proper protection. Let Maggie and John gather the information they need on the whereabouts of it then we can go get it."

"You're right." Michiru turned to Haruka. "Let's write a new song."

"Alright, any ideas?"

"Actually, I was thinking. Wouldn't it be fun to write a song that was about things that happened in the world people knew nothing about? I've had this idea for a while for a song I wanted to make called 'Underworld'." Michiru always spoke with passion when it came to music. "It would just be a play on how oblivious people are to the true dangers in the world. I want it to sound dark."

"That's something new. What song do you plan on auditioning with?"

"One of my old ones. The one I played at the school talent show- Submerge in the Deep."

"I love that song."

"You love all my songs."

"I know. Let's get started on the new song." Haruka said with a cheeky grin.

When Haruka visited her mother later in the day Angeline gave her an order. She needed Haruka to investigate a Lilin in Atlanta. Haruka questioned the order given to her. Angeline said she merely needed to know if the man still lived there. She gave Haruka the address before she returned home to Michiru.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Both girls found relief as they ignored everything going on around them. They spent their free time on the new song Michiru was composing and Haruka even had a part in it on the piano. The song truly sounded dark and mysterious. Michiru worked on her own choreography with the song as she danced to the tune and played. The day came and they were ready for the plane flight. They had decided to take Benny to Haruka's father's house while they were out. Joe had not called Michiru since the blade went missing.

The two girls boarded the plane. Michiru put her violin in the over head case and sat down next to Haruka. "I'm still a bit nervous. And I'm worried. Joe is going to be mad when we land and I give him a call."

"I know." Haruka took Michiru's hand. "It's only a few days. You need to have a bit of fun."

"What if I advance in the show? Then it will be more than a few days."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Excuse me." Their conversation was interrupted when a teenage girl approached them.

"Yes?" Haruka turned and smiled at the girl.

"A-are you Haruka Tenoh?"

"Uh." Haruka paused. "Yeah."

"Could I get your autograph? I've watched everything on the news about you and read everything I could get my hands on. I run track in my high school and you're kind of like an idol of mine."

"Sure." Haruka's face reddened. She never took the time to realize people had looked up to her after her success.

"Thanks!" The girl passed a magazine to her. On the cover was Haruka from the photo shoot she had at the college with the words written 'The Woman Paving the Way to the Future'. The picture chosen was her winking at the camera with her black jacket thrown over one shoulder.

"You're welcome." Haruka passed it back. _Damn, I look so conceded in that picture._ She thought once the magazine had left her possession.

Michiru giggled. "You have fans. How cute."

"You'll have fans soon yourself. I've never been on a plane before."

"Are you nervous?"

"No, it's just something new. I've never needed to go anywhere before."

"It'll be fine. I'm going to rest a bit. I'm not too fond of plane flights myself." Michiru rested her head on Haruka's shoulder.

Haruka looked down at the aqua colored hair on her shoulder. She wondered if Michiru suspected anything about her actions in the past week. Joe probably suspected her. Soon she drifted to sleep as well.

The plane landed and both girls woke. "We have just arrived in Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. Please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop." The announcements continued for a minute.

Haruka looked out of the window. It looked very much like home outside. Trees covered every bit of the ground outside of the airport. Michiru had also stirred and looked out the window. "Looks just like home."

"It does." The plane had stopped and people began getting off. Haruka took a glance at Michiru. The smaller girl had worry written on her face. "Hey." She whispered to Michiru. "Just have fun, forget about everything for a few days."

"I'll try my best. Let's get to our hotel."

They rented a car and Haruka drove to the hotel. The streets in Atlanta were confusing, many one way streets. It took her an hour to find the hotel. Haruka gathered their things from the trunk once they arrived. She insisted Michiru carry her violin and she would get the rest.

Michiru approached the counter. "Hi, I have a reservation for Michelle Kaio."

Haruka stood to the side as Michiru handled everything. She had forgot that here Michiru would be known as Michelle. Haruka looked around the hotel lobby while waiting.

"Alright, here's your cards." The hotel clerk handed the keys to Michiru. "Hey." He tried to get Haruka's attention. "Are you Haruka Tenoh?"

"That's me." Haruka had to accept the fact she had grown into a semi celebrity.

"I see lots of famous people come through here."

"Ah." She laughed nervously. "I don't think I'm famous."

"Well, congratulations on your achievement." He extended his hand for a handshake.

"Thanks." She said as she shook his hand. "Ready to go, Michelle?" Haruka smiled as she spoke Michiru's alias.

"Yeah, let's go and relax a bit."

"You know," Haruka said as they walked to their hotel room. "I read about this one place here in Atlanta a while ago. A grill, it's called The Vortex. I heard they have amazing burgers."

"You plan on working all those carbs off alone?" Michiru smirked a bit.

"Of course not. Let's go there tomorrow after the show." Haruka smirked back at Michiru.

"Alright, it's a date. I'll call Joe when we get to our room."

_Joe was furious when he heard what the girls had done. "You are WHERE!?" He yelled from his side of the line._

"Atlanta." Michiru said calmly.

_"Was this Haruka's idea!?" He continued to yell._

"No, it was mine. We needed to get away for a while. And besides- we don't have anything to defend ourselves with now."

_"Maggie and John are trying their best to locate that weapon. You better be here when they find it. Damn it, Michiru. I can't believe you did this."_

"I need time for myself sometimes too, you know."

_"Well hurry the hell up and don't do this again, at least not without warning me first!"_

"I'm going to go now… it's late and we have to be up early."

_"Alright." _

Michiru ended the call and turned to Haruka. "Well, he was mad but, he'll be fine." Both girls giggled. Freedom-freedom for just a few nights…

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"You ready for the show?" Haruka asked Michiru as the smaller girl ran frantically around the hotel room the next day making her final preparations.

"Have you seen my hair bow?" Michiru dug through her suit case tossing clothing all over the room.

"The blue one?"

"Yeah. Where is it? I can't find it!" Michiru turned her suit case upside down and shook the rest of the contents out.

"Michi." Haruka giggled as she approached the frantic girl. "It's in your hair."

"Of… of course it is!"

"You have everything else? That CD you mixed for the background tracks, your violin, anything else?"

"I've got it all. Let's go!" Michiru grabbed Haruka by the wrist as she darted out of the room. Haruka had little time to admire the outfit her girlfriend was wearing. It was the same outfit she had put together for the talent show at the school.

"You got the directions?" Michiru asked the second they sat in the car.

"Yes, dear, calm down. I have it all under control." Haruka said as she fastened her seatbelt. "I have a GPS on my phone."

Michiru sat calmly to catch her breath and focus on the show ahead. She replayed all the dance moves in her head and silently rehearsed the song with her hands as Haruka drove.

Even with the GPS the streets were still overly confusing for the blonde girl. She had never driven in a huge city before. "I think that's the place." Haruka pointed as they approached a building that had several people gathered around. "Now to find a decent parking space that doesn't charge an arm and a leg."

"There!" Michiru pointed. "They have a parking garage."

They pulled into the parking garage. The fee was small and a lot cheaper than 20$ every other place was charging. "Alright, Michi." Haruka placed her hands on the shoulders of the girl in front of her as Michiru tried to catch her breath. "You got this." She gave Michiru a short but passionate kiss to calm her down. "Let's get going."

Many people had gathered in the building. A lot were practicing their acts and doing their final preparations for their performance. Michiru sat gathering her thoughts to focus on everything as she had done in the car. She played silently with her hands in the air. All the while Haruka sat back coolly with her arm over the chair Michiru sat in. The blonde girl wore sunglasses and a ball cap to prevent anyone from interrupting them. Her small bit of fame had already introduced her to two people.

After hours of waiting, Michiru's turn arrived. "Michelle Kaio." The name was called and she stood.

Haruka caught her by the arm before she left. "Blow them away."

Michiru smiled and went to the judges. She had brought a small radio to play her background track while she played.

"Michelle Kaio." The judges looked up at her. "So what are you going to be doing for us today?"

She bowed to them and set the radio down. "I'm going to play violin for you but with a twist. I promise it's something you've never seen before."

The judges looked at each other. They had seen many different acts today and a girl with a screeching violin was something they were afraid to hear. "Alright, show us what you have." One judge piped up.

Michiru popped in the CD and let the background music start. She plucked at the strings for a moment until the song picked up. The judges continued to watch her still unsure of what was in store for them. Then she began to dance, not missing a single note. Their eyes grew larger as the small girl danced around the room. A judge held her hand up in the middle of her performance and she stopped.

"So, you mixed violin with other styles of music and you dance to it." The judges looked at each other whispering. "That was the best performance we've seen all day!"

Michiru's heart was racing.

"We want you to come to the next round. You're in!"

Michiru jumped with joy, she never thought she would impress the judges. She picked up her radio and sped out of the door. One of the men helping with the audition handed her the flier with the next place she needed to be. Haruka was standing outside of the door as she ran out.

"Haruka! I'm going to the next round!" She flew into the blonde girl's arms.

"That's great!" Haruka hugged her tightly. "How about some food?" Haruka had been looking forward to trying out the bar all day.

The bar was situated in an area in Atlanta known as Little Five Points. The entrance to the grill has a huge skull and the mouth as an entrance. As they entered they had to show their IDs to prove they were at least eighteen. The food was amazing. Haruka ordered her burger rare, maybe the red in the meat would help curve the appetite she had been building for blood. She was unable to feed the day before or today. Michiru enjoyed the burgers as well. The atmosphere of the bar was unique all in its own.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The moment they entered the hotel room Haruka had pinned Michiru to the wall. She tried hard to fight back her lust for the blood of her girlfriend as she pushed her into the bed. Their tongues battled each other for a while. Haruka slowly moved to kiss Michiru's neck. She found the urge to bite Michiru overwhelming. The battle to curve her appetite for the blood was difficult. She took extra care as she nibbled a bit on the tender neck and sucked on it hard.

"Haruka." Michiru moaned as Haruka began to lick her neck.

The blonde pulled back to her senses before she bit the girl beneath her. She looked into the blue eyes of her girlfriend and smiled to her.

"Haruka." Michiru's tone had changed a bit. She had a frightened look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Haruka questioned if her fangs had come out while she fought the desire to taste the blood in Michiru's neck. She closed her mouth and made sure they were in their hiding spot.

"I guess this life is taking its toll on me." Michiru traced Haruka's lips with her index finger. "I'm starting to see things. I thought I saw fangs in your mouth for a moment."

_Well shit._ Haruka thought and smiled nervously to show Michiru she was imagining things.

"Here we are trying to get away for a few days and I've still got vampires on my mind." Michiru ran her fingers over Haruka's perfectly straight teeth. "Maybe I'm going insane." Her finger found the nerve inside Haruka's mouth and a fang revealed itself. "Haruka!" She shoved the blonde girl off of her. "I can't believe this."

"What's wrong?" Haruka began to panic as she realized Michiru had discovered her secret.

"This whole time. This whole, God damned time! You were tricking me, deceiving me!" Michiru threw her things into her bag that she had thrown all over the room earlier in the day while looking for her bow. "I can't fucking believe this!" The smaller girl cursed. "You're good. This whole time you were acting. I bet you planned it the whole time."

"Michi." Haruka tried to calm the furious girl. "It's not what you think."

"Don't you dare try to calm me down now. I've been dating and sleeping with the enemy. Did you even meet your mother? I bet that was a lie too. Everything was a lie. You were just getting information for your damn clan!"

"No!" The blonde pleaded from the bed with tears in her eyes. "Michiru!"

"It's over, all of it. We're over."

Haruka's whole world crashed around her as Michiru muttered those words 'we're over'. "Michiru! No! Let me explain!" She approached the girl packing her things.

"Don't you dare touch me." Michiru shot a warning glance up at the blonde. "When I get home, your shit better be gone. I can't believe you betrayed me. I actually thought I loved you." She fought back tears. "Fuck you, Haruka."

Haruka had dropped to her hands and knees and began sobbing on the floor. All this time she knew this moment would come. She had hoped she would have been able to tell Michiru before it came to this. "Michiru." She cried from the floor as the other girl gathered her things from the bathroom. Then the door slammed closed. Michiru was gone.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I've been waiting to write this scene for a while now.

I'd like to know what you guys want to see more of, maybe I'm missing something you want to read. Reviews keep my spirits up when I write. So let me know what you think, please. :)


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine**.**

graceling42 - Trip into Michiru's mind, I actually chuckled at that comment because that's the direction I'm going for small while.

This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest I've typed.

Chapter 10

Michiru stormed down the hallway of the hotel. A few people had poked their heads outside of their rooms to see what all the yelling was about. The aqua haired girl kept to her path and exited the hotel. She found a place to sit outside away from the hotel. Haruka had betrayed her-the one person she thought she would be able to trust with everything. Michiru decided to call Joe.

_"Hello?"_

"Joe." Michiru's voice was shaking.

_"What happened?" He knew instantly something bad had happened._

"It's about Haruka."

_"What the fuck did she do to you?"_

"She's a vampire." Michiru said slowly. The other end of the phone was silent.

_"What?" Joe was confused._

"She's a damn vampire, Joe."

_"She doesn't have fangs. You know how they are, they can't hide their fangs."_

"That's just it. Her fangs were hidden. This whole time she deceived us."

_"Do you think it's a new trick they've learned? They've had all these years to evolve; maybe it's the next step."_

"I don't know, Joe." Michiru could no longer hold her tears back as the fell down her cheeks.

_"There's no telling who else could be a vampire now. Damn it. Why'd it have to be her? I was actually starting to like her. She took such good care of you. I can't believe this."_

"I can't either." Michiru sobbed a bit more and wiped her tears with her wrist. "Joe."

_"Yeah?" He tried to keep his voice calm for Michiru._

"I'm through with everything."

_"What do you mean?"_

"This whole life. It's taken everything from me. First my father, then my mother and now it's taken the one person I've ever loved. I'm done with it, Joe."

_"You know you can't just walk away from it."_

"I'm done, Joe." Michiru's voice had changed, she was very stern about the decision she had made. "I'm done. Find someone else to help you."

_"Michiru…" Joe began to speak but the conversation was cut off._

Michiru looked down at her phone as she ended the call. Joe called her back but she ignored it. _Haruka._ She stared into the night sky. With her decision to leave her old life behind she decided it was time to proceed with her musical career. Her heart was in pieces and she was alone in the world now. Nothing was going to stop her from her dream now. She looked back at her phone and flipped through a few pages on the internet to find a taxi service. Haruka was going to be left in the hotel room alone and she needed a new hotel to stay in.

She phoned in the taxi to her location and waited a few minutes. Her mind was a mess as she thought of everything Haruka had been shown everything about the hunters. The whole time Haruka had been working for her own clan. The vampires had the upper hand the entire time. A taxi finally pulled up to her location and she entered.

"Take me to any hotel, just not this one. I don't care which one."

The driver looked into his mirror. "Yes ma'am." He drove a few blocks away to a nice hotel.

Michiru paid him and exited the cab. The hotel was just as nice as the one she and Haruka had been in. She paid for her room and proceeded in. She had decided she would stay a few days longer so Haruka would be gone when she got home. Michiru sat quietly in the room once she entered. It was going to be difficult to sleep alone. The last time she slept alone was before her mother's death and that was a couple months ago.

Tears continued to stream down her face as she remembered everything she and Haruka had done together. She had told Haruka her real name and the purpose behind it. Would she still be safe when she got home? _I need to change my flight._ She thought to herself for a moment and opened her laptop to connect to the hotel internet. Her flight was changed to Wednesday. When she got back home she was going to drop out of college and purse her dream. Her only hopes rode on the audition she had at the talent show. It was her only way to true happiness now.

Her phone vibrated again. This time it was Haruka. She could feel her heart breaking even more as she read the name and ignored the call. Shortly after that Haruka sent her a text message.

_'Can I have the time to explain everything?' – Haruka_

Michiru deleted the message without replying and shut her phone off. "No, Haruka. You have nothing to explain." She said to herself. "I don't know what to do." She mumbled some more.

The flier she had received earlier was in her bag and she needed to see where to go for the next show. This show was in Los Angeles, California-a perfect getaway from all the drama happening here. She scheduled the appropriate flights and hotels that night. Eventually she fell asleep and spent the next few days in bed and watching TV as she waited for the day to return home. She could not eat a single bite. Her entire world had been shaken by Haruka's lies and deceit.

The day had come for Michiru to go home. She held her breath and hoped Haruka would be gone when she got home. The taxi delivered her to her house. Haruka's car and bike were gone –a good sign. Inside she found a note on the table. She hesitated to open it but decided she should.

_I'll always love you no matter what. Your secrets are safe with me forever. – Haruka_

_Ps. You know where to find the house key._

Michiru cried as she read the small note. She could see smudges in the writing as Haruka had written the note crying. Instead of throwing the note away she took it into her room. Haruka's clothing was all gone along with all of her belongings. Michiru sat on the bed they had shared for the past couple of months. "Haruka." She cried as she picked up the pillow that had belonged her ex lover. "I wish everything could have been different." She brought the pillow to her chest smelling the scent of the blonde on it. "We can never be together ever again." What hurt more? The betrayal or the loss of the one girl she had ever loved. She was unsure of the answer. "Happy Birthday, Michiru." She whispered to herself knowing the date was March 6th.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

A few days had gone by and Blake called Michiru.

"Hello?" Michiru answered unsure of what Blake wanted.

_"Michiru." He was worried. "I haven't seen Haruka in college, or you. Is everything alright?"_

"I dropped out of college. I don't know what Haruka is doing."

_"You dropped out? What happened?"_

"We broke up. That's all you really need to know. I can't go into details."

_"I'm worried about Haruka. I can't get a hold of her. Her phone was disconnected. Her father doesn't know what happened to her either. She left her dog with him and just up and disappeared. Michiru, Haruka loves that dog she wouldn't just leave and not take him with her."_

"It's not really my problem. I'm sorry, Blake." Michiru had begun to cry.

_"That's not cool, Michiru." Blake's tone had changed. "She could be dead somewhere."_

"Then let her be dead somewhere." She said through a few sobs.

_"What the hell happened? Everything was fine. You two were the perfect couple. I envied your relationship. I don't understand how all that can change overnight."_

"It's too complicated and I can't get you involved."

_"Haruka might have been my best friend but I care about you too. If you find out where she is, will you let me know? I'm here if you need a friend to talk to."_

"I'm not looking for her. I appreciate your concerns. Thank you, Blake."

_Blake was silent for a moment on the other side of the line. "I hope she's okay. Call me if you need anything."_

The call ended and Michiru dropped her phone on her bed and rolled over. She had not moved for the past few days. Soon she would be leaving to start her new life. When she got to California she would play with all of her heart and soul- at least what's left of them. _California, where dreams come true. _She managed a small smile for the first time in the last week as that thought crossed her mind.

It would be about another month before everything played out in the competition. A month in California. If she could land at least one record deal she would live her dream. Would her parents be proud of the decision she made? Her mother had always wanted her to have a normal life, and this was her chance. She pushed everything behind her and stood from her bed. No more dwelling in the past. And she began to play her violin…

**Xxxxxxxxx**

_-Flash forward-_

_Michiru stood next to Haruka in a dimly lit room. The blonde could not respond to her as she lay on the table in front of Michiru. With tear filled eyes she spoke to her ex lover that lay motionless._

_"I remember the first time I saw you, Haruka. My mother and I had just moved here from Japan. She wanted me to have a normal life, start college and let her handle the family business for a while. Sometimes I would help her but for the most part she wanted me to focus on college._

_"I passed through the gymnasium and saw you running. Have you ever seen a person and without knowing them you just knew they were going to be an important part in your life? That was the feeling I got when I saw you. Every morning I could not help but watch you jog. I heard a couple girls talking about you. You had so many admirers I never thought I would get the chance to even be your friend. Then I approached you. _

_"I wasn't sure of what to tell you so I said the first thing that came to my mind. "You know, you have a lot of admirers." You continued to walk as if you hadn't heard me. So I tried again. "There is one girl who would like nothing more than to ride with you in your car." That got your attention and you stopped and told me that the hopes of that girl were too high and you kept walking away._

_"The next day I approached you again. You always gave me the cold shoulder but I knew there was something special about you. I finally admitted to you I was attracted to you. The response you gave to me was just as I suspected. But I knew I was slowly getting through to you. Do you remember the first time you let me ride in your car? I do. I won't ever forget._

_"I had no choice but to invite you to my birthday party, even if it was a false birthday given to me by someone else. I had told my mother I was expecting someone special that night to come over. The night went on and my heart sank when you never showed up. I entertained my guests with my violin right before they left and then I saw you standing in the room. It was then that I realized, maybe, there was a connection between us and maybe you felt it too._

_"You felt bad for being late and invited me to dinner. I knew you were only kidding yourself when you told me it wasn't a date. My real birthday was too far away and it truly felt like a date to me. While we sat watching that movie I tried to push my boundaries so I took your hand. For a moment you didn't move but then you removed your hand from mine and shook your head. When you smiled I could see deeper into your eyes than you might have thought. I realized there was something bothering you and I knew it wasn't something I had done so I nodded – I knew you weren't ready for anything. Then when you kissed my cheek after dropping me off it was all I needed to know, you wanted something more but at your own pace."_

_-End Flash Forward-_

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru sat in a quiet coffee shop in California with her laptop open. The plan she had made was to stay in California for a month during the competition. She sipped some of her warm coffee and browsed a few web pages online. The competition she was against was a huge assortment of people with different talents. She tried her best to research everything she could about them. One group in particular had caught her interest – some dancers. They were damn good and she figured them to be her biggest competition. Other acts were singers and a few oddballs. It always seemed these kinds of shows favored the musical side of talent. Although, there was a man that could paint a beautiful landscape in a mere minute using spray paints and simple tools. Michiru admired his talent.

Tomorrow was the next step in the competition. Michiru had managed to make it through a few rounds already. The judges had given them a few interesting tasks to do to spice up the show. Tomorrow they would find out what their next task was. Michiru pondered on what it could be. She had already had to make a popular song into a violin solo over night as well as a few other odd things. The feeling she got when she heard the crowd screaming her name after each round was amazing. Sure, it may have been her alias 'Michelle' but it was still her name.

"Hey, what'cha doin?" A man had approached her in the shop. She instantly recognized him as the man that painted the landscapes.

"Checking out the competition." She sipped on her coffee again as she made a few more clicks through the web pages.

"You know, I've always admired the violin. The way you play is truly unique."

"Thank you. I enjoy watching you create your art as well."

"I was wondering if maybe we could get to know each other." He smiled a beautiful smile. The man was handsome. He was very fit and his short black hair was always styled nicely.

"I'm fine with that." Michiru eyed him as she sipped on her coffee again. "So long as you know we will only ever be friends." She tried her best to not sound rude.

"That's cool. The other people just don't seem too interesting. Like I said before, I love the violin so I admire your talent. My grandmother used to play the violin."

"I learned to play from my father." Michiru set her cup down to talk to him.

"I know I won't win the competition, I'm just here for the fun and to show people my art."

"We all have our reasons for being here. I've always dreamt of being a world famous violinist. I want to share beautiful music with everyone."

"I'm sure you will your dream." He smiled again. "My name is Danny, but I'm sure you know that. I just thought I would properly introduce myself." He held his hand out to Michiru.

"Michelle." They shook hands.

"Alright, Michelle, why don't you join me for some fun? I don't have any friends here so I figured I'd make some friends. Is there anything you like to do?"

Michiru closed her laptop and finished the last bit of her coffee as she thought to herself. "I'm not sure, surprise me. I need more fun in my life."

"Do you like mini golf?"

**Xxxxxxxxx**

_-Flash Forward-_

_ Michiru took Haruka's hand into her own as she continued talking to the blonde on the table._

_"You really loved my music. If you hadn't pushed me to keep at it I wouldn't have made it where I did. You mentioned a talent show in the college and urged me to enter. You came over a couple nights a week and helped me with a song. I knew how you felt about me and I knew how I felt about you. The time we had known each other was so short but each day I could feel myself falling for you more and more._

_"You helped me pick out an outfit for the show. When I asked you to help me tie the corset I felt the way you touched my back. It was so gentle. I closed my eyes when I felt your touch. You were so nervous about the situation so I tried to flirt with you to make you more comfortable. Then I saw you sitting outside the dressing room. I saw you cry a single tear. I could see the pain in your eyes and questioned what had been hurting you. It made me want to do nothing more than to make you happy and take away your pain._

_"The talent show was amazing. Hearing all of the people cheer for me and call my name. I went back out to play one last song. That's a night I will never forget. That was the night we shared our first kiss. The feeling I got when we kissed I could never describe. I think my heart stopped and then I just melted into your arms._

_"When you finally told me what hurt you it hurt me more than you will ever know. What the man had done to you upset me so much. I actually cried myself to sleep that night when you left. The world is so cruel. Here my family fought to keep the true evils at bay but in the end humans were just as bad."_

_Michiru giggled a bit as she remembered the snowball fight in the park. This was the first time she had smiled in a long time after everything that had happened. She brushed the blonde strands of hair back on the girl that continued to lay motionless._

_"The snowball fight in the park was the most fun I had had in years. My mother and father used to take me out when it snowed back in Japan. We would play in the snow for hours. That day made me so happy."_

_Michiru sighed to herself as she continued to talk to the unresponsive blonde girl._

_"Then one day Blake approached us. He had been turned into a ghoul. I knew the affect would wear off soon but that was when I knew everything was going to go downhill. I sent Joe a text message telling him the vampires had spread into the school. We both knew a war was coming at that moment. All hell broke loose. Once Blake had been bitten the vampires began to come out of their hiding spot. It was like a siren went off – the treaty was broken. That one bite on Blake was what killed my mother. She went out on a hunt with Joe and they encountered a vampire. My mother wasn't fast enough in the fight and she didn't make it home. If you hadn't been there for me that night I'm not sure what I would have done."_

_ -End Flash Forward-_

Michiru had made the first friend she had made in a while. Her only other true friend was Blake. Danny was very nice and respectful toward her as they got to know each other. They cheered each other on during the next competition that was to be held. Unfortunately, Danny was eliminated but Michiru advanced to the next round.

"I'm sorry you were eliminated." Michiru approached the man that had become her friend the last couple of days.

"Don't worry, I'm not upset. I did what I came here to do. I showed people art they've never seen before. You can still go on, show them something they've never seen or heard before. People are talking about you all over. You're performance is so unique compared to the rest. I have no doubt you will win."

"Winning sounds nice." Michiru said as the two walked outside to a local diner. "Even if I don't win, if I could land a record deal somehow-that's all I want."

"You will." He said reassuringly. It surprised Michiru that Danny had not once made a move on her. Most men she had become friends with in the past always tried to date her but were turned down when she told them she had no interest in men.

"The tasks the judges have been giving us are all getting harder. I'm nervous about the next one. They told us we would only have an hour to prepare for it once we are told what it is."

"Blow them away."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

_-Flash Forward-_

_ Michiru continued to stand next to Haruka that still lie on the table. She could not leave Haruka's side as she recounted the events from their past. Haruka could not hear her as she spoke but Michiru did so anyways._

_"After my mother's funeral Joe was mad that I had brought you there. He didn't want you to get caught up in the whole vampire business. Not just that- he didn't want you to mess up everything if you found out about what we did. I knew I could trust you. You were always so suspicious about the 'family business' when it was brought up. I hated not being able to tell you._

_"You kept me company in the lowest point of my life. I was alone in the world, my entire family was gone but you were there. You stayed for a few days and each night you held me as I cried to sleep. I try not to cry around anyone. One night you startled me when you woke up screaming. I wondered how often you had nightmares that bad but you wouldn't tell me about it. I knew you were a very private person._

_"Soon you were going back to your father's house. My heart sank when I realized I wouldn't have you next to me when I slept. It was in that moment I knew all I wanted was to be yours. You were the only person in my life that made it worth living. You made me so happy._

_"After another guy was attacked in the college I began to research everything I could about the vampires. Most lore said they had weaknesses. Sunlight, stakes to the heart. Sadly, I knew that was all a lie. The only thing that could kill them was the blade my mother had passed down to me. It had been in our family for generations. If it hadn't been for that blade we wouldn't have been able to settle the treaty in the first place._

_"While I was researching what I could I heard a knock on my door. You were there. You looked so troubled and I let you in. I tried to quickly pick everything up before you could see what I was doing. You tried to help me but I didn't want you to read anything. You told me about your mother and the lie your father had created and you stayed with me for a while again._

_"Ah, then the night finally came and you found out the truth behind what Joe and I did. You know, it always surprised my just how well you took that information. Now that I think back on it, you already knew about it. You acted as though it was the first time hearing it and I believed you. That was also the night we made love for the first time. I won't ever forget it._

_"Your mother gave you a new bike for your birthday. You really enjoyed riding that thing. You also followed Joe and me to a meeting with the other hunters. It was then I realized how strong you were. Now I know why it was, it wasn't because your father- it was your mother. Vampire blood ran in your veins. So we took you with us on hunts. You were always on top of everything."_

_-End Flash Forward-_

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Alright." Danny stood with Michiru outside of the large building the show had been taking place in. "You'll do great. Go in and find out what task they have for you today.

"Thanks, Danny. I'll play my hardest."

The two entered the building. Danny took his seat in the audience as Michiru went back stage to receive the new task. Backstage was what remained of the performers. Some were nervous while others played it cool. Michiru found a nice chair to sit in while they waited for a couple of minutes. One of the men helping run the show entered the room soon after.

"Hey, hey. So, tonight is something different." He smiled at the few remaining performers. "Tonight is the second to last show so we decided we'd do something different. We are combining two acts into one. You have an hour to do get it together and perform together." The man continued explaining the rules for the night. Luckily for Michiru she was paired with the dancers. She knew instantly this would be a crowd stealer. The man left the room and each group that had been paired were showed to private areas for a brief discussion as to what they would do together for their performance.

The dancers consisted of five, three females and two males. No time for formalities as they began to discuss what they were going to do. Michiru and the dancers hit it off right away. They were to perform a dance with her while she played the violin and danced as well. A quick rehearsal was done with the choreography and they were sent to the stage an hour later to perform.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

_-Flash Forward-_

_ Michiru continued talking to Haruka. Tears were still running down her cheeks as she looked down at Haruka. She traced her fingers across one of Haruka's arms as she remembered how it once felt to be held by the blonde._

_ "You were always so upset with how Joe acted toward you. He never had anything against you. You just happened to be dating the girl he looked at as his own daughter. He gave you one hell of a time and it really irritated me._

_ "Soon you moved in with me. I, too, wondered if the decision was too soon. I knew I loved you and I knew you loved me. What more was needed?_

_ "Then you broke that world record in the 200 meter dash. I always wondered how you did it. You hated all the attention you received. I wonder today after knowing the truth about you, was it really cheating? You were born the way you are-you couldn't help it. You just did something you liked doing._

_ "Then the night we lost the dagger. I was so mad at you. For the first time I raised my voice when I spoke to you. Now I look back at it I wonder if it was you that took that weapon in the first place. So then we decided we'd leave town. The life was wearing down on me and you and we had nothing to protect us. _

_ "I wonder if it was a mistake going to Atlanta. I advanced to the next round in the competition. In the end, it was a mistake. I accidently stumbled upon a secret you had been keeping from me. You were the enemy the whole time. When you pulled away from my neck I saw a glimpse of fangs in your mouth. I thought I was going crazy and then it came out again. I was done with everything. In one bold move I left you. My whole life was ruined by vampires and then I found out my girlfriend was tricking me the whole time."_

_ Michiru was interrupted when a man entered the room she was in and spoke to her. "Michiru, you need to come out of there. You know it's no good to be in there. There's nothing you can do for her now."_

_ Michiru let go of Haruka's limp hand and walked away from her body. She took a one last glimpse at the blonde girl on the table before she left the room._

_ -End Flash Forward-_


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

To "Guest 1"- I've been reading your reviews. :) I'm glad I have the time to update as I do I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

To "Guest 2" - Ah, don't worry Haruka's dad isn't a werewolf. Haruka is on a table because, well, you will have to wait a while to find out why. ;) Don't worry, her dad hasn't disappeared. He's just usually busy with work and not home often.

Electra Red - Thanks. I'm glad you enjoy it. I had to think of a way for people to get into Michiru's mind somehow and not bore the readers with just the competition she was attending. It might be a few chapters before you find out where those future scenes come from though.

This is another short chapter. Fret not! Chapter 12 I plan to be nice and big.

Chapter 11

Michiru and the five dancers approached the stage. The audience all held their breath as the six performers took their positions. All the lights were dim as the silhouettes stood still on stage. Silence was broken when a violin began to play and shortly followed by the background track Michiru had mixed. The song chosen was 'Underworld'. When the lights came on the group began to dance impressively.

The crowd cheered at the performance. All the dancers and Michiru performed gracefully on the stage as though they had weeks to prepare. Even Michiru was impressed at how well they managed the entire act. Then it was over and the entire audience stood screaming for all six performers. They chanted 'Michelle and Dancers Five' for the combined act.

When the crowed had calmed down the judges whispered between each other as they usually did for a moment. The shock on their face at the performance that was put together in an hour was amazing.

"So you guys have never performed together, right?" One judge asked.

"No, that was the first time. We were given the task to combine our acts and this is what we managed in an hour." The dancer Michiru had pinned as the ring leader spoke.

"When we made this challenge we tried to pair groups that would work well together as far as their acts went. You six went above and beyond what we expected." The second judge said.

"I really have no words for what I just saw. You six would do amazing paired together on a real stage." Judge number three spoke.

"So, what do you guys think?" The first judge looked at the other two judges.

"No doubt they will advance to the final round." All the judges agreed and the audience went wild.

All six performers bowed and left the stage. "Michelle." The 'ring leader' spoke to her afterwards. "You did great. If we ever get the chance to, we should try to perform together on a real stage. The rest of my group thinks it would be nice to come together for another performance sometime."

Michiru smiled at the idea. "That would be fun to do one day if we ever get the chance."

"I'll give you my contact information. If it's years down the line and the time arises, give me a call and the six of us should get together and wow a crowd." He gave her his number.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru met Danny outside for lunch as they usually had after every show. Soon Michiru would be heading back home and she was not too fond of the idea. The two sat at their favorite diner while they talked.

"I really enjoyed that performance. It was amazing what you guys managed to do in the short time."

"It was fun. If we ever get big they wanted to do a performance in the future. It would be fun to come together again on stage in front of fans."

"I won't be here for your final performance." Danny was upset when he spoke. "I have to get back home to my fiancée."

"Oh, you're engaged! That's awesome." Michiru was exited for her friend. "That explains why you never hit on me."

"Oh, honey. I never hit on you because you aren't my type."

Michiru finally realized what he meant. "He's a lucky man to have you in his life."

"Surely someone as pretty and kind as you has someone at home waiting too."

Michiru had tried her best to not think of Haruka the entire time she was in California. "Unfortunately, I don't." Michiru looked away from the table as she recounted what happened. "After the first audition I had a nasty break up."

"I'm sorry to hear that, he was a fool to leave you."

"Actually, it was a she and I left her." Michiru wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"I see it upsets you. You don't have to tell me about it. How about we go out to do something fun before I leave. You ever been to laser tag?"

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day Michiru joined Danny at the air port. He cried more than she did. Danny lives in New York and she feared she may never see him again. Finally he regained his composure. "Alright. Knock 'em dead." He said after they broke their hug. "You can win that competition. The final show will be played live. Brad and I will be at home cheering you on."

"Take care Danny. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Danny began to cry again. "Oh, let me get out of here before I cry anymore. Do what you love to do!" He kissed her cheek and began his journey to his plane.

Michiru felt alone again without Danny. She had a few more days until the next show. The last couple performers knew the challenge already. The judges had asked viewers at home to get more involved and send in original one page stories or poems. Once they had sorted the best they would present them to the performers and let them choose one. The performers would then be given a few minutes to read their selection and incorporate it into their performance.

Michiru wanted to take her mind off of being alone again and practiced her violin nonstop. She also took time to walk around the city. Many of the people recognized her and cheered her on. A few people even wanted her autograph when they met her. _So this is what Haruka felt like when she had that girl approach her on the plane. _This was a feeling Michiru could get used to. She even gave people that had approached her a few quick violin lessons on the streets. Michiru had grown into a small local celebrity.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The day came, the final performance was here. She stood backstage with the last four groups. The final performers were Dancers Five, a rock band that called themselves 'Wish of the Night', a solo singer by the name of Charity Morelli, and finally Michiru known the United States over as 'Michelle Kaio.'

"Alright ladies and gents." A crewman for the show approached the remaining performers. "Here's what you can select from." He sat down roughly twenty poems and short stories on the table.

Michiru approached the table and took the first one she saw. 'When the Sky Rains' was the title of the poem she had picked up. She held back tears when she read it. It was written beautifully and with such care. Each word conveyed feelings inside of her she had not felt in weeks. This was the poem she wanted to use.

"Michelle. You're up first." The crewman said after a few minutes. "Break a leg."

Michiru took one final look at the poem before she went on stage.

"Hello again, Michelle." One of the judges greeted her as she approached the microphone. "Tell us the title and the author for the piece you've selected for your final performance."

Michiru looked down at the paper in her hand. "I chose a poem named 'When the Sky Rains' by Amara.''

"Please proceed."

This time she had no backtrack for her to play with. The entire performance was her violin alone. As she played she held back tears as she remembered the happy times she had with Haruka. Then the tune slowly changed. It became painful and sad as they met the end of their relationship. Then performance was over. Michiru bowed to the judges and went backstage.

She looked over the poem again. The person that had written it seemed to have gone through what she had. To suddenly lose the person they loved. She felt like this poem was meant for her.

The dancers were up next followed by the solo singer and then the band. As the show was reaching its ending they called all four of the finalists out. Michiru stood with her violin in one hand and her bow in the other. Each held their breath as the winner was announced.

"Dancers Five are the winners followed in second place by Michelle Kaio."

Michiru felt her heart jerk. She had not taken first place but second was a nice finish. The dancers wanted Michiru to join them that night for a small celebration at the achievements of both. As Michiru left with the dancers later they were approached by agents. A couple agents wanted them to combine their performances and proceed as six, while other agents specifically targeted each individual act.

They decided to take copies of what each agent had given them. Her dream was becoming a reality. She had landed a few interested agents. Later that night during the celebration dinner Michiru talked with the dancers about the offers.

"I'm going need time to look over everything." Michiru said as she nibbled on a steak she had ordered. A couple of the dancers urged for them to combine acts as they complement each other well. "Our performance together was really great." Michiru had no doubts in her mind they would work well together but her dream was to always be a soloist. "But I don't want either of us to take away from the other. Maybe one day we can come together and do a performance like we had talked about a couple days ago. That would be fun. Imagine the excitement people would get. Do a tour together for a couple of months or something." The dancers liked the idea. Michiru made sure to give the dancers her contact information for when the time came.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru felt like she may have closed a chapter on her life as she sat on the airplane going back home. She looked over the offers by the agents and debated on which one to take. The person next to her congratulated her on her success while she skimmed over the papers. Each agent told her to take her time on her decision. But to not wait too long as the people would forget about her.

The plane soon touched the ground and Michiru drove home. She regretted the idea of coming back home even though she left the life of vampires behind her. Now she would move forward and move away from this place to pursue her dream. Once home she unpacked her belongings. She took the poem out she had chosen and read it again before placing it in a safe place.

Her mail box was overflowing as she opened it but inside was not what she suspected to find. A small package had been delivered while she was gone. There was no name or address on it. She debated what was inside until she opened it. "No." She screamed as she found the Kris that had gone missing. "I'm not returning to that life." She shoved the weapon into the first drawer she opened and walked away. Everything she had tried to forget in the last month hit her when she saw the blade.

Michiru sat down on the couch and watched the television for a while as she tried to find an escape. Her phone rang after a while-it was Joe. She ignored it and put her phone back down. He called again and she ignored it again. Once the phone rang a third time with Joe's name on it she answered it.

"What the hell do you want?"

_A woman cackled at the other end of the phone line. "Watch your tongue with whom you speak to."_

"Who are you?" Michiru had not recognized the voice and knew Joe had no woman.

_"Oh that's not important. What's important is I know you are home and I know you have something I want." The woman's voice continued._

"What do you want from me?"

_"I want that blade you've hidden from us for so long."_

"Who is 'us'? And what blade?" Michiru's face had turned red from anger.

_"You've used that blade to kill my clan mates and now I want it. I don't like my fellow Lilin being killed off."_

With those words she knew what the woman was talking about. "You can't have the blade."

_"Oh, but, dear, are you forgetting whose phone I used to call you?"_

Michiru gasped. The woman had used Joe's cell phone to call her. "What have you done to Joe?"

_"Nothing… yet." The woman cackled again. "So, here's the deal. You come to my place with your weapon and exchange it for this man's life. You are to come alone. Oh, and I will know if you aren't alone. If you don't come alone I will drink him dry. You also have twenty four hours to make the exchange. If you don't I will drink him dry. So, what will it be, dear? This man's poor, pitiful, human life or your weapon?" The woman grew silent as she finished speaking._

"Screw you." Michiru hung up the phone. So easily could she just run away and leave it all behind. She knew she could not give the vampires the weapon but she could not let Joe die. No matter how much she hated the life of a hunter she knew she had to do this one final task. Her phone chimed a text message. It was a picture of Joe tied up with a blindfold and his mouth gagged with the words 'Tick Tock' under it.

"Haruka!" Michiru screamed at the top of her lungs. "I know you're behind this. You damn bitch!" She stormed through the house over turning a few pieces of furniture and throwing things around. "I thought my secrets were safe with you. You're a damn liar!" The girl continued to shout as though Haruka could hear every word she said. Her phone chimed another text message from Joe's phone-another picture. This time there were two people in the photo. A woman was standing behind Joe in a long red dress with her fangs ready to sink into his neck. She had long blonde hair and piercing green eyes. At first glance Michiru thought it was Haruka but it was not. Under the photo was the address of where she needed to go.

Michiru's anger had reached its peak. _'This is it. I'll make the exchange and then leave this place forever.'_ She approached the drawer she had thrown the blade in earlier. _'Now I can leave this life behind without regrets.'_ She put on her outfit she usually wore when she went out on hunts. Her heart was racing as she tried to focus her mind on the task at hand. With the blade safely hidden her right boot she left. She knew it was probably a suicide mission but she could not let Joe suffer being sucked dry.

Her car approached a large, elaborate mansion. She felt a knot in her throat as she finally got out of the car and proceeded to the front door. _'This is suicide. But at least I have something to protect me.'_ The doors were unlocked as she pushed them open. In front of her was an enormous room with a balcony that hung over two large chairs. Sitting in the chairs were two women that looked almost identical. One wore the same dress from the picture she had received and had a man standing next to her. The other-the other was Haruka.

Haruka wore the outfit Michiru and Blake had got for her birthday. What shocked Michiru more were the two women standing next to Haruka. They were both running their hands all over Haruka's body as the blonde enjoyed the attention and even kissed both of them before realizing her ex had entered the mansion. It broke Michiru's heart even more as she witnessed the scene. Everything about Haruka had changed during their time apart. Haruka glanced at Michiru with a smirk as she continued to enjoy the attention of the brunette vampire that had brought Haruka's head into her chest. The second vampire was a redhead. The redhead caressed Haruka's shoulders slowly.

Michiru could only stare at the scene. Haruka had been playing her the entire time they were together. She had no doubt in her mind the blonde had been cheating on her the whole time as she watched the show. "Haruka, you've changed." Michiru finally spoke and broke Haruka's attention from the two females.

"Haruka. There's a name I haven't heard in a while." The blonde parted from the redhead that had just given her a long and passionate kiss. She waved the women off of her and stood up. "My name isn't Haruka." She smirked and crossed her arms across her chest. "I now go by the name my mother gave me when I was born." She turned to the woman sitting in the chair next to her that Michiru had now pinned to be Haruka's mother. "My name is Amara." Haruka's fangs were present the entire time she spoke.

Amara- that name sounded familiar. Michiru shook off the thought; it had to be a strange coincidence.

"Now then, Michelle." Haruka spoke her alias and it confused Michiru even more. Why would Haruka be keeping her true name safe? "You have something that belongs to us." Haruka turned to the two women she had been making out with and told them to leave the room. Her mother then stood and dismissed the man at her side. "So how about that dagger?"

"I can't believe you Haruka-"

"Amara." She reminded Michiru of her true name.

"Amara." Michiru stressed through gritted teeth. "You really were working with them the whole time, weren't you?"

Haruka turned to her mother and both women cackled loudly with each other.

"Where's Joe, you said it was an exchange."

"Oh yes." Haruka said as the man her mother had dismissed reentered the room with Joe and threw him to the floor.

"Leave us, Alexander." Haruka's mother ordered the man out of the room.

Michiru's heart was racing. She was in the middle of the a vampire's nest. Haruka was so different, was this her true self? Had she acted the whole time?

"Now, how about that blade?" Haruka perked a brow.

"No, I want Joe first."

"So you don't trust me now?" Haruka took a step forward.

"I don't trust vampires."

"Ow. That hurt, you don't even know how offensive that term is. All the time you were throwing that word around when we were together." Haruka's eyes seemed to undress Michiru as she spoke. "The blade first then you get him."

"No."

"Then I'll take it by force." Haruka slowly approached the shorter girl.

_'What's this?'_ Michiru felt her body become overwhelmed with fear the closer Haruka got. Each step made her shake more and more. "What are you doing to me?" Her body was frozen with fear.

"A little trick I've picked up. You're not going anywhere until I get that weapon." The blonde continued approaching Michiru. "Let's see, where do you have it hidden?" Haruka placed her hands on Michiru's shoulders and leaned her face near Michiru's ear. "I think I'll take my time looking for it." She said and nibbled on Michiru's ear lobe. "Is it here?" Haruka ran her hands slowly over Michiru's breasts. "Damn." She whispered again as she now nibbled on her neck. "I miss seeing your body."

"Screw you." Michiru managed to mumble.

"Maybe later." Haruka continued to whisper as her hands made it to Michiru's waist. "Oh, you will never know just how much pleasure you gave me in bed." She said as her hands found the crotch of Michiru's pants. "Nope, not there either." Haruka took a moment to run her hands to Michiru's buttocks and give them a nice squeeze before trailing down her legs. "Oh, I remember where you keep it, silly me." Haruka withdrew the blade from Michiru's right boot. "I remember this guy." She held it up so it gleamed in the light in the room. "Alright, well I guess that's that. You can have Joe now." Haruka stood and stared into Michiru's eyes.

The blonde's eyes had changed into the same serpent-like slits they did when she used her special ability. Michiru felt completely used as Haruka spoke to her the way she did. All that time the blonde had been playing her and taking advantage of her. Tears formed in Michiru's eyes as she realized everything they had together was a complete and utter lie. Haruka never loved her.

"Oh, look. She's going to cry now." Haruka looked over her shoulder at her mother and turned back to Michiru. "Crying is for the weak." The blonde moved her face closer to Michiru as she gazed into the blue eyes in front of her.

Michiru trembled as she wondered what Haruka was going to do to her. She just wanted her life to end at this moment. She wished Haruka would just plunge the blade into her and kill her. There was nothing worth living for anymore. Not after that betrayal.

"I have no reason to kill you." Haruka continued to stare into Michiru's eyes and planted a hard kiss onto her lips. "Soft as always." She whispered as she pulled away and turned to her mother. The fear that Michiru had felt disappeared and she fell to the ground.

"Take Joe before I change my mind." Haruka walked to her mother with the blade in hand.

Michiru wanted to cry, to scream, to die but she had to save Joe. She had come this far. Even if she wanted her life to be over at least she could save the last person she loved- Joe. She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran to him and removed the blindfold and gag.

"You fuckin' bitch." He instantly began to spit curse words at Haruka. "I can't believe you double-crossed me." Michiru had managed to completely untie him as he continued cursing at the blonde. "Never trust a vamp. Fuck you."

"I would leave if I were you." Haruka said as she handed the weapon to her mother.

"So this is it." Haruka's mother held the dagger up to observe it. "Oh, where do you think you're going?" She continued to speak as Michiru and Joe started to leave.

"The exchange is made." Michiru spoke as she helped Joe.

"Never trust a vampire." Haruka's eyes gleamed as she spoke. "I can't believe you came here, Michelle." She continued to use the alias as she spoke. "You aren't too bright. You fell into a trap. Kill two hunters and get the dagger. We have the upper hand in the entire war now." Haruka began to approach both of the hunters that became rooted to the ground as she began to invoke her fear ability again.

"I can't believe you, Haruka-"

"Amara." She reminded her again.

Michiru knew at this moment both she and Joe would not make it out of this mansion. They were powerless against Haruka as she approached. Her mother followed closely behind as well. "Make it quick." Michiru trembled as she spoke. Haruka stopped walking once she was a few feet away.

"Two hunters and a Lilin." Haruka's mother spoke.

A scream bellowed through the air and the hold Haruka had on Joe and Michiru ended. The second it ended Michiru turned to see where the scream had come from. The blade had been plunged into Haruka's stomach. "No!" Michiru ran to Haruka before she turned to dust. She may have been hurt deeply by everything Haruka had just done to her but she could not let it end like this. She had to touch Haruka one last time.

"Lilin." Haruka's mother turned to the aqua haired girl as Michiru lunged for Haruka that was falling to the ground holding onto the blade in her stomach. Then Michiru felt a sharp stabbing pain in her own gut and looked down to see the same dagger in her own stomach. "Hunter." Her mother cackled loudly.

_'This is it'_ Michiru thought knowing the blade would start working its magic on both of the wounded girls. _'This is how I'm going to die.'_


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

To eliminate the confusion. Yeah Haruka's mom stabbed her. Don't worry though. You find out why in this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it.

Chapter 12

~About a month ago~

Haruka had dropped to her hands and knees and began sobbing on the floor. All this time she knew this moment would come. She had hoped she would have been able to tell Michiru before it came to this. "Michiru." She cried from the floor as the other girl gathered her things from the bathroom. Then the door slammed closed. Michiru was gone.

At this point she knew there was nothing she would be able to do to stop Michiru even if she ran after her. Haruka cried on the floor for a few more minutes. Her whole world had come crashing down as the love of her life stormed out of the room. "Michiru." She whispered through a couple sobs. Eventually Haruka did was she always did when she needed time to recuperate, she went for a walk.

Haruka dried her eyes and left her hotel room. The pain inside of her was so tremendous she could no longer cry. She walked down one of the sidewalks near the hotel. Across the street she saw Michiru getting into a taxi. Her heart began to shatter even more as she had one final glimpse at Michiru. She was unsure of where to go so she just continued to walk.

The streets of Atlanta were still busy with cars as though the city would never sleep. A few homeless people mumbled to themselves as she passed by them. Haruka stopped and glanced at one of the hobos for a second. She could feel her urge to feed building again and tried to ignore it as she walked away and found a place to sit for a minute. With her phone in her hand she called Michiru, maybe she would pick up but she knew she would not. The call was ignored so she decided to send Michiru a text message that would never receive a reply.

_'I knew it wasn't worth it._' She thought and continued to walk all the while she remembered the order her mother had given her. She sighed to herself knowing she had to go through with it no matter how bad she felt at the moment. Her mother had wanted her to find a Lilin that lived in Atlanta. Maybe if she focused on something else she would feel better. Haruka took her wallet from her back pocket and opened a folded piece of paper. Her mother had written an address on it for her. _'I guess I don't have a choice.'_ Haruka thought to herself and sniffled a bit as one last tear streamed down her cheek.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka drove up to the address she had entered in her GPS. The house was a mansion. It seems the Lilin like to live lavishly. She stood at the front door for a moment before debating on ringing the bell.

"Ah." A man's voice spoke to her from behind. "I have a visitor? Splendid!" The man's voice was a bit strange.

Haruka turned to see a Lilin standing behind her. His hair was a mess and his clothing was mismatched. She stood staring at the strange man for a moment.

"Oh ho! Oh boy. Hey. I know who you are!" He seemed to jump with joy. "You're that half breed I've heard all about!"

The man was irritating Haruka quickly. Her night had been horrible and now she was standing at a crazy man's doorstep. _'What a weirdo.' _She thought to herself.

"You know, it's not nice to call people names." He's mood changed completely and he stared at her.

"I didn't say anything."

"But you thought it." He continued to stare at her as if he was penetrating her very soul.

_'Why did I even bother coming here? I should have stayed in the hotel room.'_

"Oh I see." He continued to look deep into her very being. "You're sad. Upset. Betrayed? No. You betrayed someone. Someone special. You're heartbroken. Love hurts doesn't it?"

Was this man reading her mind? She remembered the conversation she had with Blake. She had told him she did not want to get involved with someone; love hurts people in the end.

"Blake. Oh. Yes." The man continued.

"How do you know Blake?"

"Oh don't ask me. The name came from you. Let's see. Blake. Ah ha. I see, I see."

"Look, I don't have the patience for you right now. I've come for what I came for and now I'm going to leave."

"So you can cry some more?"

"Excuse me?" Haruka's temper was rising.

"You're going to cry over your human. What's her name… ah I see it. Michiru. Or is it Michelle? Could be both." The way he spoke to her was almost like he was playing a game.

"You're reading my mind. Let me guess, some special power you have?"

"Of course it is. You have it too. You just don't know it yet. You see, the first thing I noticed about you was you were different." He approached her and sniffed loudly as he smelled her neck. "You see, behind all that cologne you wear is something else. Underneath. Three, no-four distinct smells. That's very strange. To have all three and another smell."

"Look. I've had a shitty night. I've come what I came to see and I'm going back. And yes, probably to cry. My life is one pile of shit rolled together."

The man took a step back and looked at her again. "You really have no idea what you are capable of."

"I'm capable of fucking everything up. I'm capable of betraying those I love most."

"Hm. You'll see in time what you can do. Perhaps I can leave you with a parting gift."

"I don't need a damn gift. There's nothing in life I want anymore."

"You see, you will find out soon there's more to your life than you expect. How about I tell you how to do it? How to read someone's mind. Oh but you have to keep it a secret. You can't tell anyone. Nope! Not even your mother. Especially not your mother. It's a secret my clan has had for since the beginning of time that only we know of. Seeing as you have our scent I will tell you the secret."

This somehow perked Haruka's interest. "Go on."

"Look into someone's eyes. Then look deeper. Focus through their eyes, kind of like you are staring off into a distance-looking at something behind them. Then you will hear their thoughts. Play games with them. It's all how you talk to them. Key words. Watch and learn."

Haruka sighed, the man sounded insane. He began to stare into her eyes again.

"Your past. Hm. No. Something else. Your past is troubled. When was it? Five years ago. I see."

"Stop it." Haruka shook her head. She realized how he led her thoughts. Suggesting one thing made her think of something. Each suggestion he made would lead him to what he wanted to know.

"You're going to bring an end to the war. You just haven't figured out you can yet or how you will." The man said and skipped away humming a song.

As if that was not the icing on top of the fucking cake. Haruka entered the rental car and returned to the hotel. The instant she returned she could feel everything crash around her again. The walk and the crazy man had taken her mind off of Michiru for a couple of hours. Michiru's scent was all over the bed and she hated it.

Haruka lay on the bed thinking of her next step. She could not return to her father's house. Her home was no longer with Michiru. The only person she could turn to now was her mother. She wondered if Angeline would welcome her into her home. Her mother had done everything she could to help Haruka on her path to discovery. She decided to call Angeline. It was well past midnight and she wondered if it was too late. However, Angeline said to call if she ever needed something.

The phone rang for a while and it was picked up.

_"Hello, darling." Angeline's voice was sleepy. She had been awoken by the phone call._

"Mother." Haruka withheld her emotions as she spoke in her deep voice.

_"Is everything alright?"_

"I had a horrible break up and now I have nowhere to go. I have to leave the house before my ex gets home."

_Angeline was silent for a moment as she thought of how to help Haruka. "You don't even have to ask, dear. My home is large enough for you and I have many spare rooms."_

Haruka wanted to cry with the kindness her mother had always shown her. "Thanks. I have to leave tomorrow when I get back to town."

_"I'll send Alexander to help you. Just give me a call when you get back."_

"I will. Thanks again."

_"Anything for my daughter. Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, love."_

Haruka ended the call and looked at the time. It was a little after 3:00 am. The plane flight wasn't until later in the night. Haruka sat up in the bed she knew she was not going to sleep tonight and went for another walk.

She found herself outside of a local club after walking for a while. Her hunger had been reaching its peak and she could feel it. She approached the bouncer that stood outside and showed him her ID. He put an under 21 tag on her hand and she proceeded in.

The club was booming with life and the music was loud. The dance floor was flooded with people dancing and grinding on each other. Her eyes darted around the room for a target. She had always hated the idea of feeding off of a live human but had no choice. Before she could advance to the dance floor a woman had approached her.

"Hey there handsome." The woman's voice spoke behind her.

Haruka turned to see a woman clad in clubbing clothes. No doubt the woman had mistaken her for a man. Haruka's clothing at the moment hid her feminine physique. She decided to flirt back a bit. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" Haruka spoke in her husky voice as she approached the woman.

"Looking for a bit of fun." The woman swayed her body a bit with the music. "You're the best looking guy here."

Haruka smirked, this woman would be an easy feed. "Is that so?" She ran the back of her hand down the woman's cheek and looked into her eyes.

"Damn." The woman said at the touch. "You really know how to work a girl up."

Was this what Angeline was talking about? Was this the charm Haruka was capable of putting on someone? The woman's eyes seemed to glow with something that looked like a false infatuation. Haruka slowly backed the woman into a lone corner away from the plethora of people. Haruka's own curiosity got the best of her as well when she remembered the encounter with the crazy man hours ago. She stared into the woman's eyes.

"You just going to stand there?" The woman seemed to beg for Haruka to do more.

"What do you want me to do?" Haruka continued to gaze into the woman's eyes and then she heard it. The woman's lips did not move as she stared back into Haruka's eyes. Every other sound in the club had vanished and all she could hear was the woman's thoughts.

-_You really have to ask?-_ The thoughts came to Haruka from the woman. _–I want you to fuck me hard.-_

Haruka knew that was something she would not do and instead drew in to the woman's lips. The woman's thoughts continued to flow into Haruka's mind as she pressed the woman against the wall. Her mouth tasted of alcohol as the woman's tongue invaded Haruka's mouth. The unfamiliar taste bothered Haruka and she instead moved to her target- the woman's neck. She played with the woman's neck for a moment and finally bit down with her fangs. The sound of the club came back into focus as she broke the small psychic connection with the woman's thoughts. This taste, the pure fresh taste of the blood was so much more enticing than the less fresh counterpart Haruka usually had with her mother.

The woman ran her hands to Haruka's neck and in her hair as Haruka fed off of her. It was a kinky game to the woman and left her wanting more when Haruka finally pulled away. Haruka wiped her lips so as to make sure they were clean.

"You just going to leave a girl hanging?" Haruka heard the woman call as she turned to leave the club.

"I'm sure there's other men around that want in your pants." Haruka said as she disappeared out the front door and proceeded back to her hotel.

When she arrived back in the room it was close to 6:00 am. Haruka sat on the bed and tried her hardest to not think of Michiru the instant she scent of her ex crept into her nose. She kicked off her shoes and removed the button up shirt she had on and tossed it to the floor. She wondered if Michiru changed her plane flight. No doubt she did.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The plane flight was lonely and Haruka sat alone. She soon arrived back to the house she had been sharing with Michiru. A wave of emotion came over her as she approached the small house. She had called Angeline to let her know she was home. Alexander met her at the house once she had everything packed. They put her bike and belongings into a closed trailer he had brought.

"All ready Miss Haruka?" Alexander stood outside by the truck he had driven to the house.

"I have one more thing to do." Haruka went back into the house and wrote a note for Michiru. Tears streamed down her face as she scrawled the first thing that came to mind:

_I'll always love you no matter what. Your secrets are safe with me forever. – Haruka_

_Ps. You know where to find the house key._

Her tears had smudged a bit of the ink as she wrote. She folded the note and placed it on the kitchen table. Haruka left with a final look back at the house. She locked the front door and went to the backyard and hopped the fence. There was a small plant pot next to the back door and she put the key under it.

"I'm ready now." She said to Alexander as she returned to the man in the front.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Haruka." Her mother was waiting for her when she arrived at the mansion. Angeline held her arms out to comfort Haruka. It was the first time she had ever hugged her mother and she did so with tears in her eyes.

"Mother." Haruka wept into the woman's chest. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Haruka." Angeline continued to hold onto her daughter. "I'm here for you. The loss of your first love is always hard."

After a few minutes Haruka finally found her bearing again and pulled away from Angeline. "Where do I go now? I don't want to return to college."

"You have no need to go to college anymore, dear. You can now start to completely embrace the lifestyle of a Lilin."

Haruka wiped the tears from her face and thought on the words her mother had just spoken. She knew in the end she would have out lived Michiru and would soon find herself alone in the world. She would outlive all of her friends. It was time she left the human world behind.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

A few days passed while Haruka stayed in her mother's mansion. Haruka had her phone line disconnected and her mother gave her a new phone to replace it. The room Haruka had been given was enormous. It was nearly the size of Michiru's small house alone. The bed was huge and fitted with crimson colored silk sheets. At night when Haruka was alone she would watch TV in her room. As much as she had tried to forget about Michiru she would watch every show she performed at the talent show. Haruka cheered on Michiru each time. In time Haruka grew to accept Michiru was gone from her life and wanted nothing more than her ex lover to be happy with whatever she chose to do.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Despite the fact the Lilin were at war with the hunters they still took time to enjoy life. Haruka's mother had arranged for a night of dancing as she invited other Lilin to her mansion for a ballroom type set up. When Haruka had decided to leave the human life behind Angeline sat Haruka down and told her the name she had given to Haruka the night she was born – Amara. On her decision to embrace her heritage Haruka no longer hid her fangs. She soon left the name Haruka behind. The night of the ballroom party had arrived. Alexander had shown Amara all about ballroom dancing.

Angeline stood next to her daughter as her mansion became busier and busier. Amara stood clad in a suit her mother had bought for her. "Amara," Angeline whispered to her. "Why don't you go have fun? Meet some girls and go wild."

Amara liked the idea of meeting new girls and smirked at the comment her mother had made. In this life, the Lilin life, she knew any woman would be accepting of her advances. The Lilin were open to anything and with their immortal lives they lived it to the fullest. A woman caught Amara's attention and she approached her. One thing she had learned while she stayed at her mother's mansion was the Lilin had no shame when it came to sexual encounters.

She approached the brunette woman that stood next to a fountain of crimson liquid. The woman turned to the blonde behind her and smirked. "My name is Amara." She took no time to introduce herself to the brunette.

"Carmella." The woman extended her hand to Amara. The blonde took the slender hand and kissed the back of it.

"Can I have this dance?" Amara asked as she looked up to the woman from over the top of her hand.

"It would be my pleasure." Carmella took a quick drink of the thick red liquid and set her goblet down to follow Amara.

The two dance gracefully with Amara in the lead. As they danced Amara looked into the thoughts of the woman in front of her. Should she feel guilty using this ability? No. It helped her to understand people better and helped her to hide her shyness and insecurities as she spoke to new people.

Most of the thoughts she read from her fellow Lilin were among the same lines. They played with the idea of how Amara was half human and somehow that always made them even more attracted to her. Their dance was slightly interrupted when a redhead joined in as well. Amara had managed to dance with both women without leaving one alone for too long. The redhead's thoughts were more provocative than the brunette's. Amara liked the redhead's idea as she read her mind.

"With whom do I share the pleasure of dancing with?" Amara asked the redhead as she joined in.

"Ruby." The redhead smiled as Amara spun her for a moment.

"A name so fitting." The blonde turned back to the brunette and spun her around as well.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

From a distance Angeline watched the three women dance and then slowly disappear from the ballroom together. "Alexander." She spoke to the tall man next to her that never left her side. "You and I both know she poses a threat to the entire order of things."

Alexander nodded.

"We need to keep up this charade until we can finally get our hands on that weapon."

Alexander nodded again.

"She has no reason suspect we want her gone."

Alexander nodded his head a third time. "Do you think she knows where the weapon is still?"

"It's possible." Angeline sipped on a goblet full of blood. "We need to get her to devise a plan to retrieve it."

"Yes, Lady Angeline." He bowed and took her free hand. "Would I have the honor to share a dance with you?"

Angeline smiled and handed her goblet to one of her human servants. "It would be my pleasure."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Amara took the two women back to her room. The thoughts from both women were in unison as Amara shut the door to her room and became sandwiched between both shorter women. Carmella pulled at the crimson colored tie around Amara's neck and brought her lips to her own. Ruby ran her hands down Amara's figure from behind.

Kissing a Lilin was a new experience for Amara as her tongue hit the fangs inside the mouth of the brunette. The woman behind Amara hungered for a kiss as well and turned her around. As their lips met Amara felt the hands of the woman behind her travelling to the buttons on her tuxedo pulling the jacket open.

There was no passion during the encounter, just pure lust. Both women fought each other in the bed for the dominance of Amara and each took a turn at offering Amara new height of pleasure. The new pleasure was brought on by a small feeding the three shared between each other. The blood of a Lilin may be toxic if consumed in high doses but in small doses it seemed to heighten the mood. Once Amara had her fill of pure bliss she rolled to one side of the bed. She would not return the pleasure received and left it to the two women next to her to do so to each other. Both women soon fell asleep with each other and Amara left the room wearing a deep red colored robe.

Angeline sat outside on one of the balconies and puffed on a cigarette. Amara approached her and sat down next to her.

"It's something different, isn't it?" Angeline spoke.

"What is?" Amara questioned her mother.

"An encounter with a Lilin is far more intense than that with a human."

Amara remained silent as she remembered the lust she felt moments ago. It was something she never thought she would experience. It was something she never wanted to experience until recent events. "It is."

Angeline turned to her daughter and sat quietly for a moment. Then Amara could hear it. Without even trying to focus the thoughts poured out of Angeline's mind.

_-It's a shame I'll lose you in the end. You just can't be allowed to live. You'll ruin the order of the clans. No one is suppose to posses the powers of all three clans. I'll never know how you became to be. -_

Amara sat quietly as she heard the words come from her mother's mind.

Angeline cleared her throat. "I don't suppose you won't be able to retrieve that weapon now?"

Amara sat quietly as she realized something. Her mother wanted the weapon to kill her only daughter. "I don't know if the hunters still trust me." She turned her head to the side. Amara knew she would keep Michiru's secrets but had to admit something to Angeline. "My ex was a hunter. Surely by now the news has spread of what I was."

Angeline sat as she put a puzzle together in her mind. "I'm sure you know where some hunters live. Why don't you pay a visit with a few threats? We need that weapon for our protection." Her mother lied as she spoke the last sentence.

"I will see what I can do tomorrow." Amara's heart sank as she realized this is what Michiru must have felt. The betrayal Michiru must have felt was on the same line.

"There's one thing before you go back to bed." Angeline stood and motioned for Amara to follow her. "I've been wanting to give this to you for a while." She led her daughter to the garage she owned and opened it.

Inside was the usual assortment of vehicles. In the back was Amara's Mustang and her bike.

"Forget about your old car. I have something else for you." Angeline walked through the large garage and led Amara to a new addition to her collection. "This is for you." The two women stopped at a yellow Ferrari.

"What?" Amara questioned her mother.

"This is your new car."

"I can't take this."

"You see, Amara, when you have been around as long as I have money is easy to come by."

Amara stood and looked at the car. She knew it had to be a trick by her mother to get her to continue trusting her. Amara turned and looked at Angeline and heard the thoughts pour out of her mind.

_-She has no idea. She's so oblivious. As long as I can keep her trusting me she'll never see it coming.-_

"Why don't you take it for a spin? The keys are inside of it." Angeline ushered Amara to try out her new toy.

Amara was not as stupid as everyone seemed to believe she was. "Thanks." The door opened above head as she entered the car. It smelled brand new as she traced her fingers along the seats. She then left the garage for a quick ride. Now that she knew what her mother planned on doing she had no doubt the car was more of a setup that it seemed to be. Amara was sure the car had some kind of tracking device on it and drove places she usually did not. When she returned to the mansion and to her room the two women were gone. She lay on her bed and fell asleep.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day Amara found herself at a familiar and yet creepy doorstep. She had parked her car about a mile away and walked the rest of the way to Joe's house. He opened the door after she had knocked. His eyes grew as he saw Amara standing on his doorstep.

"What the fuck do you want?" His eyes pierced into her eyes.

"I need your help."

"The hell you don't." He tried to slam the door in Amara's face but she stopped it.

"Joe. The whole thing is a misunderstanding."

"What's to misunderstand, you're a vampire."

"No."

"You broke Michiru's heart the night she found out she'd been dating a vampire."

"I need you to listen to me."

"There's no need to listen to you!" He tried to push his door closed again but Amara's strength was too great.

"Do you think I would come here on my own free will? I know you guys hate me and you think I'm the enemy but I'm not."

"You're a vampire. Vampires are the enemies."

"I'm only half vampire."

He was taken aback by what she had said. "Vampires and humans can't mix."

"That's how I was able to hide my fangs from you guys."

"All the while gathering information and taking it back to your clan. If you don't leave my home, By God I'll-"

"Kill me? Good luck without having the weapon."

"How do you know I haven't found it?"

"Because I have it." Amara pushed back her jacket and showed Joe the weapon she had sheathed at her side.

"That could be a fake."

"It's not. I took it a long time ago."

"Well damn. You just keep digging a deeper hole for yourself. So you stole from the girl you loved? You're low."

"I didn't have a choice. My mother ordered me to do it. I never gave it to her though. The guilt of the whole thing hit me hard and I kept it hidden from both sides."

"Haruka." Joe shook his head. "You're not getting any help from me. I'm in the middle of a damn war and you're the enemy."

"I know a way to end it but I need your help."

"You're full of shit."

"Am I? Here I came to give you this weapon back to show you what side I am on. I may be half vampire but I was raised in the human world."

"Then you're just as stupid as I thought you were."

"Listen to me, Joe. I'm intending to kill my mother before she kills me."

"Wow, you really have found yourself in a pile of shit. Haven't you? Why don't you just go and take a stab at her with that weapon."

"She's too fast for me. I need a distraction so I can get her without her noticing."

"Sneak into her room at night then."

"That won't work either-you know that. We can hear a lot better than humans."

"I ain't helping you."

"Have I ever done anything to make you not trust me?"

"Other than stealing that weapon and breaking Michiru's heart."

Amara began to glare into Joe's eyes to find his thoughts. "Don't make me do this to you."

"There's nothing you can do to me that will make me help you."

Amara continued to look deeper until found the words to say. "Your daughter. Sarah? That's her name." She remembered how the encounter with the crazy man happened back in Atlanta. "Sadness. She was killed wasn't she? An accident?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Joe's eyes had become full of tears. "How do you know about her?"

"I came all this way for your help. You can get the upper hand in the war with my help as well. I want to kill my mother, she's the leader of my clan. I have many tricks up my sleeve that can make you do this for me but I want you to do it out of your own free will."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I need Michiru to get involved too."

"She's left the life behind and I don't want her to get hurt."

Amara closed her eyes for a moment. "You're the only two people I trust to help me and watch my back. I want to prove to you I am on your side. I won't let anything happen to either of you. To prove to you that I am on your side I'm giving you this weapon back but I need something in return."

"What?"

"I want you to get someone to make a copy of it for me. I need to you give the copy to Michiru somehow and I want the real blade back."

"Why would I give it back to you? I should just keep it for myself and leave you in your own misery."

"I could so easily force you into doing it for me but I'm not. Do you know how easy I can make you my slave?" Amara's eyes gleamed at him.

Joe sighed and looked at the ground. The words spoken by the blonde began to hit him hard.

"I've kept secrets from both sides, it was so hard to be in the middle and I hated every moment of it. The night I took this weapon I sat debating on taking my own life but I couldn't do it. I couldn't do that to Michiru. I just want someone to listen to me. I want you to understand what I've gone through."

Joe looked back at Amara. "I was starting to like you before you broke Michiru's heart. I want to believe you're sincere about this." He held his door open. "Come in."

Amara took the time to explain everything that had happened to her and the position she found herself in between the girl she loved and her newly found mother. In the end she managed to convince Joe to help her despite how much he hated the whole idea.

"And Joe." She turned back to the man before she left. "Michiru can't know anything about this. It has nothing to do with winning her back. I've come to accept the fact she's not in my life anymore. I just know that no matter how much she hates me she won't let anything happen to me. I know she will have my back and I will do the same for her." She turned and left the man with weapon she had stolen.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Angeline sat quietly with Alexander while Amara was out.

"She's out looking for clues on the weapon." Angeline spoke to her right hand man.

"Do you think she will fall for it?"

"She has no idea what's going on. I gave her a new car to side track her."

Alexander pursed his lips in thought.

"If I had been able to raise her myself her loyalties would have been with us from the start and this whole thing wouldn't have started. She has the power to combine the two clans together under her rule. Then she will be able to make an alliance once again with the humans."

"Just as he said it would happen." Alexander perked a brow questioningly.

"Yes. When we signed the treaty with the humans and allied ourselves to eliminate Victor's clan, Victor said a Lilin would be born of all three bloodlines and hunter."

"Hunter? Her father was human." Alexander questioned Angeline's words.

"He may be human but I could smell the hunter genes on him. He was orphaned as a child. His parents were hunters. He had no idea."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Amara continued to act as though she had no idea what her mother had been planning with Alexander. She continued to leave the mansion and act as though she was searching for the weapon. Some nights she found herself with the two women from the party as they replayed the first night together. Other nights she would continue to cheer on Michiru as she watched her on the television. Then the judges announced they wanted the audience to get involved. They wanted poems and short stories to be sent in. Amara smiled to herself. She wanted to write one just to see what would happen.

The odds of her poem reaching Michiru were one in a million but she wanted to write it anyways. She had not thought of the relationship she had shared with her ex for weeks as she found herself enjoying the company of the other two women. Amara walked to the desk in her room and turned on the computer. She sat for a few hours as she perfected the poem 'When the Sky Rains' By Amara. She sent the email to the challenge.

Amara paid Joe a visit to see if he had the replica of the weapon had been made. It looked perfectly like the real thing. She hid the weapon he gave her and left his house. Now she had to play the waiting game. Joe was supposed to figure a way to convince Michiru to join him on a hunt when she got back home.

The final show began to air on TV and Amara watched quietly as her ex lover took the stage in the live finale. "Hello again, Michelle." The aqua haired girl was greeted by one of the judges.

"Tell us the title and the author for the piece you've selected for your final performance." Michiru looked down at the paper in her hand. "I chose a poem named 'When the Sky Rains' by Amara.''

"Please proceed."

Amara nearly fell out of her bed as Michiru read the name and author. She wondered if it was fate's cruel joke that Michiru had selected the poem she sent in. Surely, fate was mocking Amara for what she had done to Michiru. She watched Michiru play. Sometimes she saw tears in the girl's eyes as she played. Amara found herself wiping tears off of her face for the first time in the last month. She had managed to build a wall around her feelings for Michiru but they crashed down when she witnessed the show. Michiru did not take first place but took second. Amara was certain she would land a few record deals and live her dream.

"Find your happiness." Amara whispered to herself as Michiru left the stage with the five dancers that had won first place.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Amara knew Michiru would be getting home soon from the show and watched her house closely. Did she feel like a creepy stalker? Yes. But it was not for the reason most people would do it. Michiru finally drove up to her house in her mother's old Honda Civic. Amara held her breath as she watched the petite girl enter the house. She felt bad for bringing Michiru back into the life of vampires but once Angeline was out of the picture she would not bother Michiru ever again.

Amara arrived back at the mansion and debated on what to do. To make the situation more believable she would kidnap Joe and take him by surprise.

"Mother." She approached Angeline. "I figured out where the blade is."

"That's wonderful news." Angeline's eyes widened.

"The only thing is. I need to have someone kidnapped in order to draw the person with the weapon here." Amara was trying her best to quickly make up a plan. "I'm going to go to his house and bring him."

Angeline's expression was non-changing as Amara told her the plan to get the weapon once and for all. "Very well."

Amara turned back to her mother to get a final glimpse of Angeline's thoughts before she left to kidnap Joe.

_-The second my hands get that weapon. It's over.-_ Angeline smiled as she hid dark thoughts from her daughter.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Amara had found the tracking device she suspected her mother planted on the car she gave her. She never wanted the Lilin to know where Joe lived so she drove into a small hidden area in the forest near Joe's house. She walked the rest of the mile and knocked on his door.

"Haruka?" Joe looked at the blonde girl questioningly.

"Hi, Joe." Amara was too fast for Joe as she dragged him out of his house and gagged him. The man struggled under her strength unable to strike back at her. She bound his hands and threw him over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Joe. I just couldn't risk you not being able to convince Michiru to join you."

He mumbled something through the gag that sounded like "You God damn bitch." As he kicked his legs.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

She soon arrived home and dropped him to the floor. Alexander looked at the man on the floor and back at Amara then to Angeline.

" Amara, you have a couple of guests that came over as well." Angeline spoke and motioned for two familiar women to enter the room.

Amara had not realized the two women she had been having sexual relations with had come over. _Perfect._ She thought to herself. They would help her put on a show for Michiru. It hurt Amara knowing how bad it will hurt Michiru to witness the two women all over her. But she had to do it- she had to make her act even more convincing. This was perfect.

Angeline stood and walked to Joe on the floor. "So what are we going to do with him?"

Amara approached him as well and took his cell phone from his pocket. "How about we give someone a call?" She flipped through a few numbers on his phone and saw the name 'Michiru'. Before she handed the phone to her mother she made a quick adjustment to the name. "Give this woman a call. She's the one with the weapon." Amara stood back as her mother made the phone call.

After three attempts Michiru finally answered. Amara could hear her scream over the phone as she answered.

_"What the hell do you want?" _

Angeline cackled as she usually did when she was amused. "Watch your tongue with whom you speak to."

_"Who are you?" _Amara could hear Michiru ask.

"Oh that's not important. What's important is I know you are home and I know you have something I want." Angeline continued.

_"What do you want from me?"_

"I want that blade you've hidden from us for so long."

_"Who is 'us'? And what blade?"_ The voice of Amara's ex was growing angrier as the conversation progressed.

"You've used that blade to kill my clan mates and now I want it. I don't like my fellow Lilin being killed off."

_"You can't have the blade."_

"Oh, but, dear, are you forgetting whose phone I used to call you?"

A gasp was heard from Michiru's end_ "What have you done to Joe?"_

"Nothing… yet." Angeline cackled again. "So, here's the deal. You come to my place with your weapon and exchange it for this man's life. You are to come alone. Oh, and I will know if you aren't alone. If you don't come alone I will drink him dry. You also have twenty four hours to make the exchange. If you don't I will drink him dry. So, what will it be, dear? This man's poor, pitiful, human life or your weapon?" Amara's mother stood silently after she finished.

_"Screw you."_

Angeline removed the phone from her ear and looked at it. "She hung up on me." She laughed manically.

"Let me see the phone." Amara reached for it and snapped a picture of Joe on the floor. She captioned the picture 'Tick Tock' and sent it to Michiru. Amara felt horrible for what was going on at the moment.

To Angeline the entire scene was a game. She picked up Joe from the floor. "This will surely convince her." She leaned over his neck with her fangs ready to bite. Amara took another picture and put the address in the title as she sent it. "Alexander, take him somewhere."

"Excuse me, mother." Amara dismissed herself to her room. The two women followed her but she asked for them to stay outside. She entered her closet and picked through her clothing for the tuxedo Michiru and Blake had got her for her birthday. After changing she admired herself in the mirror. _'I'm sorry Michiru. I wish everything could have been different. I won't let anything happen to you and I'll always love you.'_ Amara dried a few tears as she realized what she was doing. A couple months ago she would have never dreamt doing this to Michiru. She had managed to put her heart back together with the time away from Michiru but felt it breaking again.

Amara had hidden the weapon that she received from Joe. She took it from its hiding spot and hid it in the boots she had decided to wear. "I'm sorry, Michiru." She cried for a moment before she left her room.

Ruby and Carmella were still waiting for her and followed her back to her mother. Amara took a seat next to her mother's chair as they waited for Michiru to arrive. The thoughts of everyone invaded her mind all at once as she withdrew herself from her surroundings. Then a car was heard pulling into the driveway. _'This is it. Forgive me Michiru.'_ She thought briefly and turned to the brunette at her side and motioned for a kiss. _'Time to become actress of the year.' _

Their lips collided and she could feel the hands of both of the women begin running all over her body. Shortly after she heard the doors swing open and drew away from the brunette completely ignoring Michiru's presence. The redhead then took her turn in savoring a kiss with the blonde. Amara pretended to enjoy the attention she received and felt Carmella pull her head to her breasts.

"Haruka, you've changed." Michiru interrupted the scene.

Ruby brought Amara's face back to hers for a passionate kiss. The blonde broke the kiss and turned to her ex lover standing in the room. "Haruka, there's a name I haven't heard in a while." She stood and motioned for the women to separate from her. "My name isn't Haruka." She crossed her arms across her chest and glared down at Michiru and welcomed her thoughts into her mind. "I now go by the name my mother gave me when I was born." Amara turned her gaze to Angeline for a moment. "My name is Amara."

_-Amara? That name sounds familiar, could it be?-_ Amara could hear Michiru's thoughts clearly. She wanted to let Michiru know it was an act without making it obvious to everyone.

"Now then, Michelle." Surely calling her by her alias would make Michiru notice everything was not as it seemed to be.

_-Why is she using my alias? Does it even matter anymore?-_ The thoughts of the aqua haired girl continued to pour into Amara's mind.

"You have something that belongs to us." The blonde asked the two women to leave the room. Angeline also motioned for Alexander to leave. "So, how about that dagger?"

"I can't believe you, Haruka-"

"Amara." She reminded Michiru of the name she was using at the moment.

"Amara." Michiru gritted her teeth as she spoke. "You really were working with them the whole time, weren't you?"

Amara turned to her mother and joined her in a maniacal laugh.

"Where's Joe, you said it was an exchange."

"Oh yes." Amara replied as Alexander brought Joe into the room and tossed him onto the floor.

"Leave us, Alexander." Angeline dismissed her right hand man.

_-I'm in the middle of a vampire's nest. Haruka is so different. Is this what she is really like? Did she act the whole time?-_

"Now, how about that blade?" Amara interrupted Michiru's inner thoughts.

"No, I want Joe first."

"So, you don't trust me now?" Amara said as she took a step in the direction of her ex.

"I don't trust vampires."

"Ow. That hurt, you don't even know how offensive that term is. All the time you were throwing that word around when we were together." Amara looked Michiru once over knowing where the weapon was hidden. "The blade first then you get him."

"No."

"Then I'll take it by force." She began to approach the shorter girl projecting fear into her. _'I'm so sorry, Michiru.'_

_ -What's this?-_ Amara continued to listen to Michiru's thoughts.

"What are you doing to me?" Michiru spoke through shaking words as fear had consumed her body.

"A little trick I've picked up. You're not going anywhere until I get that weapon. Let's see, where do you have it hidden?" Amara placed her hands on the shoulders of the trembling girl. She leaned in to Michiru's ear and whispered. "I think I'll take my time looking for it." The blonde nibbled on Michiru's ear lobe for a moment as her hands roamed down to Michiru's breasts. "Is it here? Damn." She now began to nibble on Michiru's neck. "I miss seeing your body."

"Screw you." Michiru mumbled. It continued to break Haruka's heart to talk to the other girl this way.

"Maybe later." Her hands found the familiar waist of her ex lover. She wanted to withhold the next phrase that ran into her mind but did not want to spoil her acting. "Oh, you will never know just how much pleasure you gave me in bed." In par with her acting she took a moment to massage the crotch of Michiru's pants. "Nope, not there either." She then moved her hands around Michiru and gave her a good squeeze on the behind then traced down her legs. "Oh, I remember where you keep it, silly me." The blonde withdrew the blade from Michiru's right boot and held it up. "I remember this guy. Alright, well I guess that's that. You can have Joe now." Amara stood and gazed into the hurtful eyes of the girl she had just violated. She wanted to apologize for the entire act. She wanted Michiru to know how much she hated doing that to her. When tears formed into Michiru's eyes Amara had to withhold her own tears.

_-Everything we had was a complete and utter lie. She never loved me.-_ The thoughts penetrated into Amara's mind and she continued her best to withhold her own tears.

Amara had to bring herself back to her act before she broke down into tears. "Oh, look. She's going to cry now." She looked back at Angeline whom had not moved an inch as she watched her daughter have her way with the human. "Crying is for the weak." The blonde said as she looked back at Michiru closer.

_-What are you going to do to me, Haruka? I just want to die. I wish you would just take that weapon and kill me now. There's nothing worth living for anymore. Not after the betrayal you've shown me.-_

Amara wanted Michiru to know that was not her intentions. She may have been able to briefly move on from the breakup and find new ways to keep her mind off of everything but Michiru's thoughts hurt her deeply. "I have no reason to kill you." She tried to say as sincere as possible and swallowed down a knot that had formed in her throat. _'You will never forgive me after today.'_ Amara planted a kiss on Michiru's lips and pulled back. "Soft as always." She whispered for her final act and turned to Angeline. Amara released her hold on Michiru as she turned and heard the girl collapse to the ground. "Take Joe before I change my mind." Amara said as she approached her mother.

Michiru ran to Joe as fast as she could and remove the gag from his mouth.

"You fuckin' bitch." He screamed the moment his words were not restrained anymore. "I can't believe you double-crossed me." Michiru managed to completely untie Joe. "Never trust a vamp. Fuck you."

"I would leave if I were you." Amara said and handed the blade to her mother.

_-Oh, you stupid girl. Now I can take your life and the life of those hunters.-_

Amara knew at this moment she would have to fight off a Lilin elder and protect her old friends. She knew her plan was flawed but she would not let Angeline hurt either of them.

"So this is it." Angeline held the dagger up to look at it. "Oh, where do you think you're going?" Her attention was turned to Joe and Michiru.

"The exchange was made." Michiru spoke to Angeline as she helped Joe.

Amara knew she had to act quickly before her mother made it to her old friends. "Never trust a vampire. I can't believe you came here, Michelle. You aren't too bright. You fell into a trap. Kill two hunters and get the dagger. We have the upper hand in the entire war now." She projected the fear back at both of them. No matter what she would not let them be hurt but she had to continue fooling her mother and wait for the moment she would take her own dagger and thrust it into Angeline without her suspecting it.

"I can't believe you, Haruka-"

"Amara." She interrupted Michiru again to remind her of the name.

"Make it quick." Michiru mumbled.

Amara stopped far enough away that her mother would not be able to get to them in time if she tried. Amara would block her path.

"Two hunters and a Lilin." Angeline spoke behind Amara.

This is it, this is the moment she knew would happen. Amara turned to her mother to a glimpse into her thoughts but found the blade embedded into her stomach as Angeline stabbed her. The pain was unbearable and Amara let out a scream and she grasped the weapon that was deep inside of her gut. Her hold on both of the hunters was released.

"No!" She heard Michiru scream behind her.

The shooting pain dropped Amara to her knees for a moment as she tried to regain her composure.

"Lilin." Her mother cackled as she was certain her daughter would soon be gone. Angeline turned to Michiru that was running to Amara. Angeline seized the weapon inside of Amara's stomach and thrust it into Michiru as she approached. "Hunter."

Amara turned to Michiru. She was not supposed to get involved. After everything she had just done to make Michiru hate her the girl came to her aid.

_-This is it. This is how I'm going to die.-_ The thoughts from Michiru hit Amara hard. Angeline was too busy in her moment of glory and Amara withdrew her concealed dagger and thrust it into Angeline.

"What's this?" Angeline howled as she looked down to see the second dagger identical to the one she had stabbed both girls with. "It was a fake!?

Amara smirked. "Bet you didn't see that coming did you?" She held onto the weapon that had been plunged into Angeline's gut. Something was wrong. Was Angeline too powerful to be affected by the weapon's magic? The Kris did not begin to draw her life force as it did with all the other Lilin.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

~Two weeks ago~

"Carl." Joe stood in an antique shop. "I need to you make me a replica."

"Alright, but it'll cost you." The man replied to Joe.

"I need it made fast too."

"That'll cost you extra."

"I don't care about the price. Just do it." Joe withdrew the magical vampire killing Kris and handed it over.

"A replica of this? It will be simple. This weapon is very old. I've never seen anything like it though." The man observed the weapon. "I can have it done in a few days."

"Call me when you're done." Joe turned to leave the shop and stopped. "Better yet. Make two copies. I don't completely trust the person that put me up to this."

"Two copies?"

"Yes."

"It will take me about a week. I'll call you when I'm done and I'll return the original and hand over the two replicas."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

~Present Time~

"Oh, what a strange turn of events." Angeline looked down at the second dagger. "I guess I'm too powerful for this to hurt me."

Michiru lay on the floor in agony as the whole scene continued. Amara wanted nothing more than to come to her aid but the whole plan had blown up in her face. Her mother was too strong. As Angeline withdrew the dagger from her gut Joe had advanced into the fray. Angeline quickly sent him backwards as she elbowed him in the nose. There it was. Amara looked down at what Joe had in his hand. No doubt he had the real one the entire time. She lunged for the blade Joe had dropped that Angeline had not seen.

"Amara. I'm sorry. You and your friends are going to die today." Angeline approached Amara that had lunged for the third blade. Her mother grabbed the back of her tuxedo and picked her up from the floor. "It's a shame it came to this. I can't let you unite both clans and the hunters." Angeline readied the dagger that Amara had previously plunged into her.

"Then you are mistaken, mother." Amara thrust the weapon Joe had dropped into Angeline hoping this was the real one.

"You're too good!" Angeline dropped Amara on the floor and saw the blade zapping her life force. "You planned the whole thing. I can't believe this. Nooooo!" She screamed and turned to dust. The Kris hit the floor.

"Michi!" Amara ran to Michiru that was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. "No." She looked down at the girl in her arms. "Joe. I'm taking her to the hospital." Amara picked her up and ran to the garage.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Phew! I spent my whole day off typing this one. Hopefully the questions are answered as you now got both sides of the encounter.


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

My updates might take a bit longer than usual. I'm going to be busy at work for the next two weeks. I'll try to get a chapter up every couple days though. :D I like when you guys ask questions though so I can answer them in the next update. Although, I know I've been avoiding a few common questions. Mostly regarding Haruka's father and the vampire from the beginning of the story. Don't worry you will find out! Just not yet... ;) Short chapter mostly for a small shock factor. I'll try to have the next one up as soon as I can. It will probably be another short one. Hope you guys enjoy! :D

**Chapter 13**

Joe quickly picked up the Kris and charged after Amara. "Joe, take my old car. The keys are inside." The blonde looked down at Michiru as she placed her in the Ferrari. "I'm sorry, Michiru."

Once she had sat on the driver's side she tore off the jacket of her tuxedo and carefully removed the replica from Michiru's stomach. Once the weapon was removed blood began to pour out of the wound at a quicker pace. She quickly pressed the jacket onto the wound and held it firmly. "Stay with me, Michi." Amara tried her best to drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the jacket.

The second she arrived at the hospital she ran in carrying a gravely wounded Michiru. "Help me! She's been stabbed!" Amara ran to the desk. In seconds Michiru had been taken away and the blonde was left with blood stained hands in the waiting room. She paced the room until Joe came in.

"Haruka. I can't believe you." He approached the blonde that had been pacing the room and shook her furiously. "I need to talk to you, alone." Joe said as to not cause a scene around the other people in the room. He led her outside and unloaded on her. "I can't believe you did what you did. The old Haruka would have never put Michiru in danger." He readied a fist and swung at Amara but it was caught by a man behind him.

"Alexander?" Amara questioned the man that caught Joe's fist.

"I won't let you lay a hand on Lady Amara." Alexander spoke.

Joe turned to see a vampire standing behind him.

"Lady Amara." Alexander had suddenly given Amara the title her mother once had. "I agree with him. The old you would have never done that. You would have never been so careless and put her in danger."

"What do you know, Alexander?" Amara crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're different now. You need to learn how to control yourself." Alexander continued to speak in the same respectful tone as he always had.

"Are you here to kill me?" Amara looked into Alexander's eyes to be sure he was not lying.

"No." He spoke with his thoughts in unison. "I could care less about the death of Lady Angeline."

"Why do you call me Lady Amara?"

"It's the title given to the head of the clan."

_"Head of the clan?"_ Amara questioned the man in her thoughts. She never intended to end up the leader of her clan. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're the head of the clan now. It's passed down to the children of the leader should the leader ever die, which is rare. We don't find ourselves dead very often."

Joe had been standing silently as he heard the entire conversation. Any hunter in their right mind would kill both of the vampires standing in front of them. Something kept Joe from using the weapon on either of them.

_-Maybe Haruka is up to something. Maybe she will find a way to end the war. -_ Amara could hear Joe's thoughts.

"Haruka would have never devised a plan that put that girl in danger." Alexander eyed Amara as he spoke. "I can see you love her by the way you talked about her. Why did you put her in danger?"

Amara pondered the reason herself. Why did she even want Michiru involved in the plan? A part of her wanted Michiru there to watch her back… but another part was careless enough to make a plan that would put her in danger. "I don't know."

"It's because you are still young and can't control certain things. Your mind has been polluted with the blood of those two Lilin women you've been with lately. Right now you are Amara. You need to find Haruka. I don't like Amara as much as I liked Haruka."

The blonde girl continued to think on her actions. Alexander was right. Ever since the night with the two women she felt a bit different. "I need to find my old self again. I would have never been so careless as I was. Joe, why did you go through with it?"

"I ain't stupid. I agreed to help you but that didn't mean I was going to. I wasn't gonna put her in danger."

"You still had the replica made for me and you gave her the other one." Amara questioned Joe.

"I had it made because I knew you were probably spying on me. That's why I had two made. I knew she wasn't going to go back to the life so I planned on taking the fake one back eventually. I was never gonna do it and then you kidnapped me. Then I knew it was all going to shit. You're just lucky I kept that blade tucked away on myself the entire time I had it."

"I can't believe myself." Amara looked down at her hands that were covered in the blood of her ex. The sleeves of the white under shirt she had on were covered as well. Lucky for Amara the wound she succumbed to sealed up quickly. Michiru was not as lucky. "I'm going to go wash my hands and wait to see how she is doing."

After she had washed her hands she returned to the waiting room. A couple police officers had entered the area to question her about the stabbing. With ease she made up a false report for the cops to go off of. Then she waited. Michiru had been taken to surgery. She continued to pace the room. A few of the people in the waiting room stared at her blood soaked sleeves; luckily her crimson vest hid the blood from her own wound. Alexander stood silently in a corner of the room. Amara stopped to look at him- she had questions for him when the whole ordeal was over.

A couple hours went by which made Amara worry. She glanced back at Alexander for reassurance. The man nodded. He kept his mouth closed the entire time to hide his fangs. Joe sat in a separate corner away from the two. Amara would often look in Joe's direction to see what he was thinking. It upset her as she read his thoughts. Joe thought of his own daughter's death all the while thinking if Michiru was going to succumb to the same fate.

Someone finally came from a back room and approached Amara. "She's stable. She's going to make it. You can come and see her for a moment."

"Thank you." The blonde began to follow the man. Joe had jumped up and followed as well with Alexander behind the two.

Amara and Joe entered the room while Alexander took his position outside. The two approached the bed Michiru lay in and looked down at her. Michiru's eyes were still closed. _'She's fine.'_ Amara thought and sat down in one of the chairs in the room. _'I can't believe I was so careless. I'll never bother her again with this life.'_ Amara smiled to herself as she thought of Michiru finally living her dream.

"Alexander." Amara had poked her head out of the room. "I need a pen and paper."

"I'll get it for you." The man bowed and left to find the requested materials and returned after a moment.

Amara sat down in the room again and scrawled a note for Michiru. She was not going to stay for her ex to wake. Michiru would be furious to see Amara in the room. The blonde wrote every thought that came to mind.

"Joe," Amara approached Joe with a folded piece of paper to hand it to him. "I know you don't like me anymore. You won't hear from me ever again after I leave this room. I just want you to give this to Michiru when she wakes up. I promise you one thing. I'll bring an end to this war if it's the last thing I do." She handed Joe the note she had written. "I'm sorry for everything."

Joe took the paper and stared at Amara for a moment. _–I hope you know what you're doing. I hope you end the war.- _"I never want to see your face again." It had become clear to Amara that Joe hid his true feelings inside.

"You won't and neither will Michiru." She looked down at the sleeping goddess and took her hand. "I'm sorry it ended this way." She kissed the back of her hand as she used to do months ago when they first met.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Amara returned to the mansion and had a talk with Alexander. She had so many questions for the man that had been at her mother's side for so long.

"Alexander." She looked into his eyes. "I'm tired of being left out in the dark. Each day it seems like I find out something new. I want you to explain things to me."

"I will tell you everything, Lady Amara."

"Haruka. I don't like who Amara was either."

"Lady Haruka." Alexander corrected himself with a smile.

"Why didn't you come to my mother's aid when you knew she was in danger?"

Alexander took no time to think about his answer. "She wanted to kill her only daughter. What kind of mother wants to kill her child?"

"I thought you were working for her though."

"Your mother isn't the person you believed her to be. She played the kind mother game well. When we first brought you in here she wanted to find out what she could about you. Each time you visited she would tell you what you wanted to know. And each time you left she would turn to me and tell me you could not be trusted. You had been raised by humans. If she had raised you herself your loyalties would have been with us. She knew of the weapon killing our clan mates. She also suspected you might have had something to do with it, and that it was possible you knew where the weapon was. She was a very intelligent woman. The night you went with the hunters to the neighborhood where the two Lilin had been wreaking havoc – that was a set up."

Haruka sat quietly as Alexander explained everything. It made sense as to why the Lilin had been running rampant.

Alexander continued. "One of the Lilin escaped and that was when Lady Angeline learned the truth. The Lilin told Lady Angeline you were helping the hunters."

"I don't understand why you would let me kill her and not come to her aid."

"When she first talked about getting the weapon to kill you, it bothered me." Alexander shut his eyes and lowered his head. "The only reason I served Lady Angeline was because she saved me from my mother. My mother, too, wanted me dead. Lady Angeline killed her, drank her dry. Remember she told you- if a Lilin was to ever do that, they would never be the same? It was too late and I had already sworn my loyalties to her. She saved me and I was to serve her. I made a blood oath with her that I would serve her until the end of time."

"Were you the man that took me from her after I was born?"

"It wasn't me."

Haruka sighed, she wished Alexander had all the answers for her. "I'm still trying to find out why someone took me."

"Lady Haruka, you were taken because you were born different from all of us. Lady Angeline and I were never able to figure out how. In today's world there are two clans of Lilin- the clan you are now in charge of and the clan that Lucas Grey is in charge of. But there were once three clans. Victor Barlow was the leader of the third. Victor always wanted the three to become one but that would make a breed of Lilin too powerful. Each clan has their own special powers.

"We have the power to charm a person while Victor's clan causes fear. Lucas Grey's clan, well, they are very secretive about their ability. We can only speculate what they can do. The man you met in Atlanta was Lucas Grey.

"There is something else-it's about your father. When Angeline first met him she had fun with him. It excited her to think this man was different from humans. I'm sure you know he was orphaned as a child. He's a hunter but doesn't know it."

Haruka's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yes, he is. The choice was made to destroy Victor's clan long ago so that a Lilin would never be born of all three bloodlines. The child would unite us."

"Wow, okay. This is insane."

"You asked so I am telling you."

"You said Victor's clan caused fear?" Haruka pondered.

"His clan was destroyed centuries ago. So we don't know where you received that power from."

Haruka tapped her chin with her finger. Was his clan destroyed? She remembered back to the night she had been attacked by a Lilin months ago-the night she mistook for a nightmare for a while. Then the same man that was in her house the night her father took her out for her birthday. He projected the fear into her. "Are you sure his clan is gone?"

"I watched as Victor was drank dry with my very own eyes. He was the last surviving member of his clan at that time."

Haruka continued to tap her chin deep in thought. Then who was the man that she had encountered?

"Now that Lady Angeline is gone I am here to serve you. I swore I would serve her family. She never intended to have a child but she did."

Haruka looked back to Alexander. "I can't believe I killed my own mother."

"I'm still curious as to how you knew what she was planning."

Haruka perked a brow and smirked. "I have my sources. I also killed her without a second thought. Does that make me a horrible person?"

"I don't think you are a bad person, as long as you stay being Haruka and not Amara."

She sat for a moment pondering on the entire situation. For a couple weeks she heard her mother's thoughts on killing her. Perhaps that was why she had no second thoughts to kill her first? "I need to be alone for a while." Haruka disappeared to a balcony outside and leaned onto the railing. Night had fallen. She stared into the stars as though they would have the answers for her.

"I hope you're alright, Michiru." She whispered. "I hope you will find your happiness."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The next day word had spread throughout Haruka's clan-Lady Angeline had been killed. The shock hit many of the Lilin hard. Angeline had been the leader for at least a millennium. Some new faces appeared in the mansion Haruka was now owner of. They all wanted to see who had ascended. A few were not too happy to find a half-breed in charge and challenged Haruka but her combined abilities gave her the upper hand.

Haruka had grown fond of the outfit that Michiru and Blake had given her for her birthday. On any given day she would be seen wearing something in the similar fashion minus the tuxedo jacket. She admired the new look. A crimson vest over a white under shirt with the sleeves rolled up complete with black dress pants.

She took time to explore the mansion and read through any paper work she could get her hands on. A couple rooms in the basement caught her attention when she would pass by them. One room had a faint beeping noise and the other simply seemed out of place. Haruka had passed by these rooms a few times and questioned what was behind them.

"You won't like what's in those rooms." Alexander would tell her each time he found her questioning what lie behind each door. The doors were locked and she had no key to the rooms. It aroused her suspicion even more.

"Why don't I have a key to these doors?" Haruka asked Alexander as she pressed her ear up to one.

"If you saw what was behind those doors it would upset you."

She heard the beeping noise again when she tried to hear what was on the other side. "This is my home. I want to know what's behind this door." There was more than one beeping sound when she listened closer.

"I warned you." Alexander said and removed a key he had on a chain around his neck. He opened the lock and pushed the door open.

The room was pitch black minus a few small lights that appeared to be on a couple machines. Haruka entered the room. The smell of blood engulfed her. "Alexander, what's in this room?" She searched for a light switch on the wall.

"I told you- you won't like what's here." He turned a light on and revealed what was in the room.

It made sense now where the blood came from. Haruka stood in shock. The room resembled that of a hospital. "I can't believe this." Humans lay on hospital beds with IVs and needles hooked to their arms. Haruka walked up to the first person she saw and gazed down at woman in a deep sleep.

"I'm sure you always wondered where the blood came from." Alexander followed Haruka closely.

"I can't believe this." The blonde continued to gaze down at the woman in the bed. "This whole time-this is where the blood was coming from." Haruka reached and touched the woman's arm. "I want them released. This is barbaric and just wrong.

"I can't release them, Lady Haruka."

"Why not!?" Haruka's eyes were full of tears. "You can't just tell me you think it's right to have humans down here. Humans that don't have a choice. They just lay here and whenever we get hungry we just turn a faucet on and it drains them. Where's the right in that?"

"I can't let them go because they agreed to it."

"Why would anyone agree to living like this?"

"They all have their reasons."

Haruka walked to the filling cabinet that was setting next to the woman's bed. "I don't understand why anyone would agree to it." She opened the cabinet and found a single folder inside. The name on the folder read 'Rose Crane'. "There better be a good reason behind this." Haruka was mixed between anger and pity. She thumbed through the file.

Rose Crane

Blood type: O+

Age: 34

Gender: F

Height: 5'3''

Weight: 122 lbs

Haruka read through the writing within the folder. "She agreed to live like this to help pay for her son to get a heart operation he needed. She still has four more years." Haruka looked down at the woman that was sleeping peacefully and put the file back in place.

The next person she approached was an older man. She opened the file next to his bed as well.

Christian Cole

Blood type: A –

Age: 54

Gender: M

Height: 6'1''

Weight: 213 lbs

She read through his file quickly as well. "He's here to help pay off gambling debts. He has another year." Haruka shook her head.

"It's an agreement they came to. They came here of their own free will. I don't much like the idea either but Lady Angeline has done this for a long time now."

As much as it pained Haruka to see these people living like this she knew she could not do anything. They had signed a contract. "Isn't there another way to obtain what we need? What about the servants that walk around the mansion? What did they agree to?"  
"Their contracts are much different. Most of them were homeless and we took them in. We feed them and they work for us."

"Why do they have to be enthralled?" Haruka placed the second file back into the cabinet.

"So they won't remember anything they see here. If one didn't like what they saw and ran away to tell the police. How do you think we would explain ourselves to the police?"

"Who handles these contracts?"

"You do now. Each contract was made with Lady Angeline and if her untimely death was to arise it would be passed down to you just as everything else was."

"I don't understand one thing. How did I break the treaty by feeding off of humans? Mine was an accident, I didn't know what was happening. But this… this has been going on for years."

"The hunters know we need to feed. They also know it's wise to let us do so. Under the treaty we agreed if we were to feed off a live human it had to be the human's choice. This is the solution Lady Angeline came up with."

Haruka looked back down at the man on the table and back at the woman. He had no ring on his finger but the woman did. "What does her husband think happened to her? She's married."

"It's all too common. People go missing and then they suddenly reappear." Alexander shook his head. "I never liked the idea but we need a way to sustain ourselves."

"I need to get out of this room. I can't look at these people anymore." Haruka walked to the entrance of the room and turned back. There were about a dozen people in the room. "I want to know what's behind the other door. I can't imagine anything worse than this."

"Very well." Alexander left the room and turned the light off. He locked the door carefully and placed the key back around his neck. "There's no shock factor in the other room, mostly it's empty." The two approached a second door that was at the end of the hallway. The door was made of reinforced steel. It had several bolt locks covering part of the frame along with a few chains crossed over it. In the center of the door about eye level appeared to be a small sliding type window for one to look through.

"It better not be a prison."

"It is a prison." Alexander said as he took a key ring from his pocket and flipped through the keys.

Haruka felt her heart sink as he spoke those words. She already did not like the idea she was born the way she was. Now she was starting to see the reality behind everything.

"It's not a prison for humans. Don't worry." He unlocked the several locks that held the door closed and released the chains.

The door was heavy as he pushed it open. This room was pitch black as well and smelled of metal and iron. He turned on the light from the switch outside. In the center of the room was a table, the table was the only thing in the room. The entire room was made of reinforced steel and iron. The size of the room was quite large- about thirty feet by thirty feet and the ceiling was about twenty feet high as well. It was lit with a dim light above the table.

"I don't understand." Haruka approached the table and looked down at it. It had restraints hanging down the sides of it. "What do you keep locked in here?"

"We don't keep anything locked in here. Not at the moment."

Haruka observed the table closer and touched some of the restraints. The restraints were made of thick chains.

"If a time were ever to arise that we needed to kill a Lilin we have this room. The Lilin that does the killing is placed in this room. It's not fun going through the whole ordeal and it often leaves the Lilin in a temporary coma." Alexander explained.

Haruka turned back to Alexander. "It's like what my mother said. When a Lilin kills another by drinking their blood they are locked away. This is where you lock them away." She looked back down at the table. "I think I'm done exploring for the day." Alexander nodded and they left the room. He locked the room up again and they left the basement.

"Oh. Well, hello again!" A familiar voice greeted them as they entered the living room.

Haruka turned to the voice. A man sat on one of the fine couches. One side of his hair was combed down neatly while the other side was a complete mess. He was wearing two different shoes and mismatched clothing with a white and red polka dot bow tie. She recognized him instantly as the crazy man from Atlanta.

"Can we help you?" She raised an eyebrow as she questioned why he had invaded her home.

"Oh oh. Yes. Yes actually. You can help me. I never introduced myself by the way! My name is Lucas. L-L-Lucas Grey!" As he bowed something that looked like old cheese fell out of the front pocket of his shirt. He quickly picked it up and put it back in place after giving it a good sniff. "I'm actually here on business."

"Business?" Haruka continued to question the insane man.

"Yep. Well, that and I came to meet the new person in charge-it's you. Ah ha. I knew you would do it!"

Haruka looked at Alexander questioningly. "Excuse us for a minute, Mr. Grey." Haruka took Alexander outside to the hallway and left Lucas in the room. She glanced back at him to witness him quickly take his shoes off and switch them to the other foot.

"Alexander," Haruka rubbed her forehead. "what's wrong with him, and why is he here?"

"He's… well…" Alexander was unsure of how to answer the question. "In your mother's clan you became leader once she was dead. You inherited her position. His clan is different. You have to kill your way to the top. He killed many Lilin to get to where he is and in the end he paid the price. He may seem like a harmless crazy man but he can be dangerous, very dangerous."

"Right, the toxic blood. Killing that many would have that effect on someone in the way it has affected him." Haruka leaned around the corner and saw Lucas still debating on which foot the shoes really belonged on. "I don't know what he wants from me. Let's see what he wants."

"Oh, you're back!" Lucas greeted the two as they reentered. "Hey, okay-so. I have something important I need you to do."

"Go on." Haruka nodded.

"I want you to kill me."

"I'm sorry, say that again." Haruka was unsure of what he meant.

"Oh, this life has taken its toll on me." Lucas continued. "I'm tired of living. I regret everything I did to get to my position. It's not fun when you sit alone and your dishes start talking to you."

Haruka looked at Alexander. He shook his head at her.

"No. I want you to leave my home." Haruka commanded.

"Pity." Lucas glared at her. "You will have to do it one day. And no, nope. You can't use that weapon either. I know it's not in your possession. You doubt me, I know. Time will come when it will happen."

"Leave my home." Haruka ordered him.

"I'll see you again sometime." Lucas took one last look at Haruka and skipped out of the room.

Alexander watched Lucas leave until he was out of sight. Haruka looked into the man's thoughts. _–Could this be the second step to uniting the two clans?-_ His thoughts poured into her mind.

"Alexander." She interrupted his thoughts. "What does he want?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Alexander scratched his chin.

One thing Haruka liked about Alexander was he never lied to her. She knew what he was thinking and he always answered in unison with his thoughts.


	14. Chapter 14

All Sailor Moon characters in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Guest 1- Yes, those are where the 4 scents come from. And it's possible that's the table... ;)

Guest 2 - Michiru doesn't know who wrote the poem - yet. Alexander is actually my favorite character in the story. :D His personality reminds me of a good friend of mine.

Guest 3 - I'm sure you will! :D I'm still waiting too.. haha

**Chapter 14**

After a couple of days Haruka slowly began to feel the sadness and loss of not having Michiru anymore. For a while she had been able to suppress her feelings for her ex but Haruka soon became depressed. She often found herself driving by the hospital debating if Michiru was still in there. Haruka tried her best to hide her sudden sadness from Alexander but she knew he noticed. She entered the hospital despite her promise to Joe that he would never see her again. She just needed to know if Michiru was doing well.

"Excuse me." Haruka approached a woman at a desk in the hospital. "I'm looking for a Michelle Kaio."

"She's not in her room at the moment."

"Is she alright?"

"I can't say."

"I brought her in a few days ago after she had been stabbed. I haven't been able to return due to some personal problems. I just need to know if she's doing well."

The woman eyed Haruka cautiously. "I really can't say because the doctors aren't sure what's wrong with her. She's been very ill lately. It's possible she got a staph infection from the blade. Look, I can't say anything else. I'll risk my job."

Haruka could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up. If something happened to Michiru it would be on her. If Michiru died it would be her fault. "Any idea when she will be back in her room?"

"I'm not sure. Why don't you wait over there?" The woman pointed to a few empty chairs in the room.

Haruka took a seat. She looked back on what she had done. It was her fault Michiru was suffering right now-if only she had been herself when she put her plan into action. Haruka propped her elbows onto her knees and leaned into her palms. Time went by slowly as she waited.

"Excuse me." The woman at the desk finally said after a while. "She's back in her room. Unfortunately she's still asleep from a procedure. I can let you go in for a few minutes if you like."

"Thank you." Haruka stood and briskly walked to the room. Her heart began to beat rapidly when she arrived at the door. With a deep breath she pushed it open.

Michiru lay peacefully on the bed in her own dreams. Haruka approached the bed and gazed down. All the feelings she had been holding in exploded into tears. The girl on the bed had dark circles under her eyes and looked very pale.

"It's all my fault." Haruka whispered and gently touched Michiru's arm.

On the table next to the bed was the note Haruka had written a few days ago. She picked it up and looked at it. Michiru had no doubt read it. The ink had been smudged from tear drops. Haruka placed the note back on the table and wiped a few tears away herself. "I'm so sorry for everything." The blonde wanted to apologize over and over for what had happened. She took a deep breath and kissed Michiru's forehead and turned to leave the room.

Haruka closed the door quietly and began to walk slowly down the hallway with her hands in her pockets when she heard it- a horrifying scream from the room she had just left. She ran back quickly to see what was going on. Michiru still held her eyes closed as she screamed loudly.

"It hurts!" The girl on the bed screamed over and over. The door busted opened and a few nurses entered the room. They tried to calm Michiru as she arched her back in the bed. "Make it stop!" The girl screamed.

Haruka was pushed out of the way as the nurses ran down the hallway with Michiru screaming in the bed. The blonde ran into the hallway to follow the nurses but they stopped her and told her to wait outside. The horror of watching Michiru suffer like that was overwhelming.

"I can't take this anymore." Haruka ran out of the hospital and drove home in tears.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Lady Haruka." Alexander greeted her as she entered the mansion. "Is everything alright?"

"It's not, Alexander. I went to see how she was doing in the hospital. It's my fault she's in so much pain. They said she got staph infection from the blade and it's all my fault. She's in so much pain right now." Haruka ran to her bedroom. She wanted to forget all of her pain and forget the way she felt about Michiru. "There's only one way for me to do that." Haruka ran one hand through her hair and looked down at her cell phone to make a phone call. "This is the only way." The phone rang and was picked up.

_"Well, hello." A woman's voice answered._

"Hey there, Carmella." Haruka smirked.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Later in the night Haruka came out of her bedroom leaving Carmella in her bed. Alexander was sitting on the couch reading a book as he usually did. When he heard Haruka approaching he shut his book and looked at her.

"I'm not going to tell you what you are doing is wrong. I'm just going to tell you to be careful." He said as respectfully as he could to the blonde wearing her dark red robe.

"I don't like how I feel when I think of what happened to my ex. I will love her until the end of time. But I don't like being depressed about it." Haruka sat on the arm of the couch next to Alexander. "Haruka is a weak person." She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Alexander hid his frustration as he realized Haruka was gone and Amara was back. "So, shall I call you Lady Amara?"

Amara smirked. "I prefer Amara over Haruka. Amara doesn't let her feelings get in the way of what needs to be done."

"Excuse me, Lady Amara." He stood with his book still in his hand and bowed. "I'm going to bed unless there is something you need before I go."

"I have everything I need right now, thank you, Alexander."

The blood of the woman left in Amara's bed gave her what she needed. It helped suppress the feelings that suddenly came back. To Amara it was almost like an addiction. The pain of losing Michiru was too great and the only way to dull the pain was to sleep with another Lilin.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Alexander continued to be irritated with Amara's decision to allow the two women back in her room. Out of respect for Amara he held his tongue and continued to serve her faithfully. The day had approached when one of the contracts with someone in the basement was up. Alexander took care of the release of the person and a new person came seeking help. Haruka would have hated the idea but Amara could care less.

Amara took the seat her mother had once sat upon in the entrance of the mansion as a human had come to make a deal with her. Alexander stood by her side during the ordeal. The person that had come was a young man. His bride to be had suddenly developed a terminal illness. They did not have the money to pay for it and without proper treatment she had only a year to live. If he could get the treatment she needed she could live a couple more years.

Amara sat a pondered the situation the man was in. What he asked for was worth a couple of years in payment. Had Amara been her usual self she might have made a better agreement. The agreement she made was he would receive the money but he would spend three years under the contract. Alexander was appalled at the agreement Amara had made but the man agreed to it.

"Even if I never see her again, just knowing she could live a few more years is enough for me." The man replied with sadness in his tone. His fiancée would most likely pass away before his contract expired.

It was not all bad things Amara was taking part in but also a few good things. She had managed to successfully bring her clan under control as far as making the public free buffet. It was her first step into what she believed was reinstating the treaty with the hunters. Unfortunately the clan under Lucas' control still did as they pleased.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Alexander continued to watch Amara take the two women into her room. He knew the only reason she did so was so she could cover her feelings up for her ex. After a couple more weeks of watching her doing this he grew tired of it. He knew he had to step in before she lost herself completely. He had no regrets for what he was going to do to Amara…

Amara opened her eyes unaware of where she was at for a moment. She saw a dim light hanging above her. As the smell of the room invaded her nose she knew where she was. "Alexander!" She screamed as loud as she could. He had put her inside of the prison-like room in the basement.

Alexander sat outside of the door on a chair he had brought. He heard the commotion the instant she had awoken.

"Alexander, I order you to let me out of here!" He heard the girl scream from the other side of the door.

"I'm sorry I can't do that until Lady Amara is gone and Lady Haruka has returned." He opened a book he had brought with him and began to read it.

"You're fired!" Amara yelled.

"I can never be fired." He replied as he turned a page in his book. "I'm to serve you forever no matter what."

The door rattled as she banged her fists on it. "I can't believe you put me in here. I never did anything wrong."

"You are in there because you will soon lose yourself. I don't like Amara as much as Haruka. Haruka always makes proper decisions. Amara doesn't take time to think anything through. Be glad I didn't tie you to the table." He continued to read his book as the blonde continued to bang and scream.

After some time Alexander left to get some human blood for Amara. When he peered into the window on the door she sat on the floor with her arms across her chest looking away from the door. He placed the cup on a tray that was attached to the sliding window and sat down to read again. Amara stood and stormed over to the cup and tossed it across the room at the wall.

"You need to feed." He said when he heard her throw the cup.

"I want out of here."

"I will let you out in three days. It takes a couple days for all the toxins to wear off and you will be yourself again."

Amara sat on the floor again. "Can I at least have something to keep my mind busy?"

"What would you like?"

She sat on the floor and thought of a request but none came to mind. "I don't care. Give me anything."

Alexander walked off for a minute and returned. He placed a few books on the tray and looked through the window again. Amara was sitting on the floor with her arms crossed again. "I hope you like to read." He sat back down in his chair to continue his book.

Amara picked up one of the books he put on the tray and read it aloud as loud as she could. She paced the room for hours as she read the book.

"Alexander, I have to go to the bathroom." She stood at the entrance of the door peering out of the small window that was still open. "Let me out so I can go to the bathroom."

Alexander stood and walked down the hall way.

"Where are you going!?" Amara beat on the door again. "Don't leave me here alone!"

After a minute Alexander returned and looked into the window. Amara was sitting on the floor again. He put a bucket on the tray and sat down again.

"Are you kidding me?" He heard Amara say after a while. "I have to pee in a bucket?"

"We don't have anything else for you to use in there." He replied as he turned another page in his book.

"I can't believe this." The bucket was thrown at the wall as well. "I'm not an animal. How did you get me in here anyways?"

"I used a special dart. The same one I shot at you when I first brought you into the mansion."

"I thought I made it clear a long time ago I never wanted that to be used on me again."

"Desperate times, Lady Amara."

Amara went and sat on the table in the middle of the room and began to read annoyingly loud again. Alexander blocked her out as he read his own book. He knew it was going to be a long three days.

As the third day approached Alexander looked through the window in the door again. Amara was sleeping on the table quietly. She had slowly gotten better. He debated on giving her one more day to be safe. When she realized he was looking at her she rolled over away from him with a snort. Yep-definitely needs another day or two.

The fifth day approached and he had no doubt she was herself again. He peered into the window to see her lying on the table reading a book silently. "All better, Lady Haruka?" He spoke softly.

Haruka turned her head and placed the book on the table. "I'm sorry, Alexander." She stood and walked to the door. "It just hurts too much. I couldn't take it anymore."

"Losing your first love is something you will never forget. You have to move on eventually. I know from experience a relationship between a human and Lilin will never work. I'm sorry to say that." He began to unlock the door. "I hope you can move on. I would rather not see those women here again either." He continued as he opened the door.

Haruka stepped out. "I guess I have to do what any other person does- get over her the slow and painful way."

Alexander bowed respectfully. "I hope I never have to put you in there again, Lady Haruka. I'll clean this room up if you want to freshen up a bit."

"Thanks again." Haruka walked down the long hallway. She stopped and looked at the door where the humans were. "There's one thing I want to do. I need to make something right. Unlock this door please."

Alexander took the key from his neck and unlocked it. Haruka walked up to the young man she had made the deal with just weeks ago. She looked down at the man that was sleeping peacefully. "I can't believe what I did to this poor man."

"I don't much like what happened either. Haruka would have been kinder to him."

Haruka continued to look at him. "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love." She opened the file cabinet with his contract and changed the time from three years to one. "Now he will be able to marry the woman he loves and be happy for at least a couple of years."

Alexander smiled behind her. He knew it was a decision she would have made if she had not been tainted with the blood of the two women. "A generous decision, Lady Haruka."

"I'll go take that shower now." Haruka left the basement and headed to her room. Carmella was in the living room waiting for her. "Carmella, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The brunette turned to look at Haruka. For a moment Haruka debated on taking the pain away again but decided it was unwise. "I would appreciate if you and Ruby would forget about whatever we had." Carmella bowed and left without a word.

The shower was relaxing. Haruka felt as though she was erasing Amara out of her life once and for all. Her thoughts ran back to Michiru in the hospital. It had been a few weeks since she saw her screaming on the bed in the hospital. A few tears gathered in her eyes and she sat in the shower crying for a moment.

After her shower she looked at the suits she had collected inside of her closet. They were all the same- crimson vests with a matching tie and a white under shirt complete with black dress pants. She applied her favorite cologne and went to find Alexander.

Alexander had just finished scrubbing the blood off the wall and floor from the cup she had thrown in the prison-like room when she found him. He looked up at her when she returned to the room. She refused to enter it and waited outside.

"Lady Haruka," Alexander greeted her when he walked out of the room. "a woman had come to see you while you were in here. I sent her away due to your condition at the time."

"What was her name?"

"Mina. She said she had to go back home but would return some day. She said it was important but it could wait."

"Alright." Haruka and Alexander walked into the living room. Alexander caught Haruka up on everything that had taken place while she was in the prison room.

"Another thing has been happening as well. There has been a Lilin or two that have disobeyed your order. They have been attacking humans. We're unsure if it's from our clan or if it's Lucas Grey's clan. Either way, whoever it is is feeding in our territory. Any treaty you have been working on with the hunters could go up in flames if we don't find this Lilin."

Haruka listened carefully as Alexander gave her the down low on everything she missed.

"Lucas also returned while you were in there. His request was the same as before but I turned him away. Even if you were to go through with the action I don't think you are strong enough to handle drinking that much Lilin blood. The small amounts you've consumed have had a very bad effect on you. I can't imagine an amount of that quantity." Alexander stopped and let his thoughts take over for a moment. _–Even though, in the end I fear she will have to kill Lucas. It's the only way to unite the two clans with one ruler. Being that she has his blood as well she would be the only one that could do it-_ Haruka heard his thoughts clearly. The last thing she wanted was to end up in that room again.

"Is there someone we can send to investigate the attacks on the humans? I don't want Joe to think I'm not doing as I promised. Being in the position I am I can see we aren't the bad guys here. The hunters aren't either. I need to find a balance between the two of us I just don't know how to yet." Haruka ruffled her hair as she spoke.

"You will find that balance. I have faith in you. Lady Angeline never wanted the two clans to be united. In the end I know it will be a wise decision to unite the two." Alexander smiled. "Are you hungry?"

Haruka scratched her chin for a moment. "I could go for a big juicy burger right now and a bucket of ice cream."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Alexander had been sent to investigate the attacks made on the humans. A couple more Lilin joined him in the investigation. Haruka sat by herself for most of the day getting caught up on some other minor things she had missed while in the prison room. She also thought long and hard on all of the things that had been happening.

Victor- Victor had to be the man that attacked her a long time ago. Despite what Alexander had said about him being dead she questioned if Victor truly was dead. She also remembered what had been said about her father, that he was a hunter and never knew. Haruka had not seen her father in months and missed him. She also missed her dog, Benny. While Alexander was out she decided to visit her father. He was home for once. She approached the door and knocked.

"Haruka." Her father's eyes widened. "Where have you been?" The man's eyes were full of tears. "I thought something might have happened to you. Everyone has been looking for you. Your college was a mess for weeks as their star runner had gone missing." He hugged her tightly. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry. There's been a lot going on. I can't even explain what's been happening." Haruka looked down at the small dog at her feet. "I've missed both of you so much." She picked up Benny and held him closely. Benny licked her cheek as he usually did when he was within reach.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Her father opened the door to let her in.

"No, I just came to visit. It's been months." She sat down on the couch in the living room. "Michiru left me and I've been staying in my mother's mansion."

He bowed his head. _–I knew this would happen.-_ "I had a bad feeling about you moving in with Michiru."

"It's something I can't explain. Everything was perfect but an accident happened. I had to leave because of it."

Her father looked at what she was wearing. "Where did you get that suit? It must be worth thousands."

Haruka looked down at the attire she wore. "Things have changed. My mother died and I inherited everything from her. I can't say I'm happy with how that happened, but it happened. I've been so busy with things she left for me I haven't had time for anything else. Michiru is in the hospital. Another accident." Haruka held her tears in as she spoke of her ex lover. "She was stabbed and got staph infection. I went to visit her one day and she was in so much pain she would just scream. I don't think she ever knew I was in the room when she began to scream."

"I'm sorry, Haruka. I wish I could help."

"It's alright. I just came to visit and see how you two were doing. I really miss both of you." She hugged her dog tightly again.

"Why don't you take him with you? He's been different since you've been gone."

Haruka looked at the small dog in her arms. Normally when she would sit down on the couch he would instantly jump out of her arms. "Can I?"

"I see you have been through a lot. Having a little friend might help you feel better."

"Thanks. I have to get going. I'm very busy. I just wanted you to know I was fine."

Her father gathered the things that belonged to Benny and led Haruka to the door. "Is that your car?" He looked at the yellow Ferrari parked in the driveway.

"A lot has changed. Yeah, it's my car."

"Take care. If you ever need anything you know where to find me."

"Thanks."

Haruka was excited to have her dog back with her. Having a companion would surely help put her mind at ease. She assigned one of the human servants to take care of him when she could not. Alexander was still out searching for the Lilin that was attacking the humans. Haruka sat at a desk in one of the offices of the mansion and reorganized some of the papers inside.

"Hello again, Haruka." A chillingly familiar voice spoke to her.

Haruka turned to see the man she suspected to be Victor standing behind her. He stood wearing a black trench coat that covered his entire figure.

"Victor?" She questioned the man.

"So you know my name now." He approached the couch in the room and sat on it.

"How come I get the feeling you're the only one that can answer all the questions I have?" Haruka's full attention was now on the man that was linked to everything in her life.

"Because I am." He crossed his fingers in his lap.

"Was it my mother you warned me about that night? You told me to be careful with whom I trust." Haruka was determined to get the answers from this man tonight.

"Yes."

"Then you probably know who took me from her as well after I was born." Her eyes never left the man. No matter how hard she tried she could not see into his mind for his true thoughts.

"I took you."

Haruka had begun to suspect the possibility it may have been him for a while.

"She could not raise you. If she raised you then you would have never been able to do what you need to do. I also set fire to your house when you were an infant. I needed to hide you from her and that was the only way. She knew where your father lived so I severed off every way she could use to trace you." The man never blinked as he spoke. He seemed to be strictly on business.

Haruka picked up a few papers on her desk and rearranged them as she tried to think of more questions to ask this man. She had waited months for him to reappear. "Alexander said you were dead."

"I was dead."

Haruka glanced back at him quickly. "Then how are you alive?"

Victor cleared his throat before he spoke. "I can't die. I can die-but it's not permanent. I have lived a hundred deaths over but I always wake up the next day."

She questioned the man in her thoughts. If only she could hear what he was thinking as well. This was the first Lilin she had met that she could not hear thoughts from.

"Death is very painful for a Lilin. It's more than just dying. You can feel your very life force being pulled out of you. But for me, I am cursed to die and wake up each time."

Haruka kept her eyes locked on the man in front of her. Surely, everything in her life was something he had planned. He was the cause of everything. She turned to rearrange a few papers as she thought of some more questions. "How am I the first to be born with three bloodlines and hunter?" When she turned Victor had disappeared. She heard footsteps approaching her from the hallway outside of the room. "Damn it." She turned back to continue filling things on the desk. It irritated her more than anything she had not received all the answers. He would be back, she was sure of it.

"Lady Haruka." Alexander entered the room behind her. "We found the one responsible for the attacks on the humans."

"Very well, Alexander." She tried to wave the man out of the room. "I'll deal with that later." Her nerves were shot from the encounter with Victor.

"I think you should deal with it now." Alexander sounded very commanding. A tone she had never heard him use before.

"I think it can wait. Don't question me, Alexander."

"Very well. I'll just leave her here then." He dropped a woman on the floor behind Haruka and left. Haruka continued to mess with the papers on the desk paying no attention to the person lying on the floor behind her.

"Haruka…"

The hair on the back of her neck stood. The voice was familiar. She turned to see a woman on the floor. "Alexander!" Haruka called for the man to return."Why did you bring her here?"

"You ordered me to bring the Lilin in responsible for the attacks. That's what I have done."

Haruka stood and walked to the woman on the floor. She knelt down next to the trembling figure. "Alexander, she's not a Lilin. You know that. I want her removed from my home."

Alexander picked the woman up off of the floor and forcefully opened her mouth. Haruka looked inside of her mouth.

"See, she's not a Lilin." Haruka glared at the man.

Alexander then forced a fang out from a hiding spot similar to where Haruka hid her own fangs.

"That's impossible." Haruka approached the woman Alexander had in his arms. "There's no way she had hidden it from me the whole time."

"Haruka." The woman spoke again.

Haruka took a good hard look at the woman. Alexander released his grip on her. "Michiru," She spoke to the aqua haired woman in front of her. "what happened to you?"

Michiru bowed her head in shame. "I don't know what happened."


	15. Chapter 15

All Sailor Moon characters in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

graceling42 - I like your theory about her dad! You will find out in this chapter, kind of...

TUYETPHAM - I drew the inspiration about the blood affecting vampires in my story from those myths. It won't kill them though, maybe make them extremely sick if they drank from a dead body.

As far as the medicine goes, it's about to come back up in the story soon. I thought you guys had forgotten about that minor detail.

Anyways, I'm sure you guys guessed how this chapter might go. What happened to Michiru when Haruka was off doing her own thing? Enjoy :D

**Chapter 15**

About a month ago~

_'This is it'_ Michiru thought knowing the blade would start working its magic on both of the wounded girls. _'This is how I'm going to die.'_

Michiru continued to lay on the floor staring down at the blade that was thrust into her stomach. Blood slowly spilled out of the wound as a fight broke out behind her. She was too weak to turn over and see what was happening. The weapon did not react as she thought it would. Haruka's mother screamed for a moment followed by the sound of dust and a metal object hitting the floor.

"Michi! She heard the voice of her ex lover shout. Michiru felt herself slowly drifting in and out of reality. The arms of the blonde girl were soon around her. "No." Haruka cried. "Joe, I'm taking her to the hospital." Strong arms picked her up and carried her through a long hallway and a few rooms.

Michiru's will to live was fading as she remembered what Haruka had just done to her. She looked up at the familiar face as she was carried through the mansion. "Joe, take my old car. The keys are inside." Haruka said as she brought Michiru into a garage and placed her into a car. The eyes of her ex looked down at her. "I'm sorry, Michiru."

Her will to live continued to fade. She felt the blade carefully pulled out of her stomach and a cloth pressed down onto her wound. Michiru stared at the blonde girl as she drove.

"Stay with me, Michi." Haruka whispered. Michiru closed her eyes never wanting to open them again.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

_'Where am I?'_ Michiru questioned as a scene came into focus. The smell of sea salt pervaded the air around her. Two silhouettes stood in front of her and two more to her right. The room was dark, almost like a tomb. A steady drip of water and a loud whooshing sound from outside of the room kept the silence out. In the center of the room was an altar.

The two figures in front of her turned to each other and nodded. They were holding hands. Both were female with long flowing hair. One of the women took a step forward and released the hand she held. In the other hand she held the same dagger Michiru had used to kill vampires.

Michiru looked at the other two people in the room to her right. She was still unable to make out the finer details of them from the darkness. It was a man and a woman. They too, held hands. The woman took a step forward as well and released the hand she held onto. _'A second dagger?' _Michiru questioned in her mind as the other person had a similar dagger in her hand.

Then Michiru realized she, too, had a weapon in her hand. There was a reason she was in this tomb but she did not know why. Her other hand was grasping the warm hand of someone standing next to her. She looked to the person next to her to see who it was but the dream ended before she saw anything more.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru opened her eyes. She lay in a hospital bed. A machine next to her kept track of her heart beat. An IV was hooked into her arm. At the end of her bed was a young girl with dark hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The girl was startled when Michiru finally woke. "I'll just be leaving now."

"No, wait, who are you? How did you get in here?"

"I've been in this hospital for a long time." The girl stood from the foot of the bed she was hiding behind. "I saw when you were brought in."

"Oh."

"I recognized you from TV. You're that violinist aren't you? I watched you on TV while I was in here."

"Yeah. That's me." Michiru tried to get more comfortable in the bed. She wondered how long she had been in the bed.

"I was worried when I saw you. The woman carrying you was covered in blood from where you were stabbed. I come in here when I can to make sure you're okay."

Michiru continued to look at the young girl in front of her. She wore a hospital gown and looked to be about thirteen years old. Her hair was dark and cut to her shoulders. "What's your name?

"My name is-" The young girl was interrupted when the door opened and a nurse entered.

"Please do back to your room." The nurse asked the young girl nicely. "I see you're finally awake, Ms. Kaio. I've just come to check on you."

Michiru watched as the nurse made a few observations on the machines she was hooked up to. The nurse checked her IV and soon left. The dream she had just had bothered her. It felt real to her but it was strange. Who were the people in the tomb? She shrugged off the dream and looked down at her stomach. It worried her when she wondered how bad the wound was. She lifted the robe up and looked down at her stomach.

A bandage had been wrapped around her stomach. She remembered the incident in the mansion and the pain of the blade in her gut. "Haruka…" She whispered and rolled on her side. There was a small folded note on the table next to her. With a trembling hand she reached for the note and opened it.

_Michi,_

_I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I regret everything I did when you came to the mansion. I wish I was in my right mind when it happened but I was not. You will never forgive me for what happened and I will never forgive myself. I write this note to tell you something:_

_When we first met I had no idea I was the way I was. I'm still trying to figure out why I am the way I am. I wanted to tell you so bad, but when I found out what business your family was involved with I knew I could never tell you. It hurt me more than anything to lie to the person I loved._

_You will never hear from me again. I have decided to leave your life once and for all. I only wish for your happiness and it's not with me. I hope you live your dream. It may not mean much to you now, but I will always love you. Follow your dreams and find your happiness._

_-Your number one fan  
Haruka_

Michiru cried as she read the note. She knew she would never get over Haruka. All Haruka ever wanted was for her to be happy. She placed the note back onto the table and rested for a moment. Then it happened…

An excruciating pain shot through her entire being. It felt as though her bones had all suddenly shattered into pieces. She let out a blood curdling scream and grasped the sheets of the bed. The pain was so tremendous she could hardly focus her words to scream 'help'. The pain continued to course through her body and synch to her own pulse. Nurses ran into the room to see what was happening.

"Help me!" Michiru finally found the words to say.

The nurses quickly took her out of the room. The young girl was standing in the hallway as they wheeled Michiru out of her room. Her eyes gleamed and she smirked as Michiru left her sight.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru felt incredibly weak once she was put back into her room. She lie silently without the strength to even open her eyes. The door opened and someone approached her bed. The person that had entered began to cry. Michiru wanted to open her eyes to see who it was but was too weak.

"It's all my fault." A familiar and husky voice whispered. Michiru felt a gentle hand touch her arm. The cologne the person was wearing was familiar as well- Haruka had come to see her.

The note was taken from the table next to her. She could hear it ruffle as it was opened and then placed back on the table. "I'm so sorry for everything." The voice of her ex lover spoke to her again. Familiar lips kissed her forehead. Michiru wanted to cry when she felt the gentle kiss. It made her forget her anger for a moment. It made her forget the betrayal she felt from the blonde. Footsteps slowly paced away from her bed and Haruka left the room.

Then the pain returned, the unbearable feeling that her bones had shattered again. She let out a horrifying scream and heard the door open again. The smell of the cologne returned to the room when the person came back in. "It hurts!" Michiru screamed over and over.

The door busted open and several footsteps were heard. She arched her back in the bed and grasped the sheets again. "Make it stop!" Her bed was rolled out of the room quickly. Despite all the pain she was enduring she could smell Haruka's cologne next to her as they rolled her down the hallway.

"You need to stay out here." A man said.

"I can't." She heard Haruka's voice.

"You can't come in here."

"Michi." Haruka's voice whispered and the smell of the cologne faded as they entered another room.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru found herself back in her room again. She wondered when the pain would return again. This time she had the strength to open her eyes and did so. When her eyes focused she saw the young girl sitting in a chair next to her.

"You're awake again." The girl smiled. "How do you feel?"

Michiru did not feel like talking at the moment and mustered all her strength to speak. "I …feel better…"

"I saw when they took you out of your room earlier. I was worried because you were screaming." The girl stood and walked up to Michiru. "I figured maybe when you felt better I could bring a board game in or something, if you want to play with me. I don't have many friends."

Michiru managed a smile, having a friend while she was in the hospital sounded nice. "When I feel better… I think it would be… a nice idea." She spoke slowly. "I don't feel so …well …right now."

"I can leave and come back tomorrow. I hope you feel better then." The girl left the room and Michiru soon fell asleep peacefully.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Night had fallen when Michiru finally awoke. She turned her head to the side and saw a man sitting in her room. He was very pale and wore a black leather trench coat. His eyes were focused on her.

"Who are you?" She questioned the bald man.

He stood and walked to her bed gazing down at her without speaking.

"Who are you?" She asked him again.

The man continued to stand silently as he hovered over her. His lips parted and revealed two fangs as he spoke. "My name is Victor Barlow."

"Get out of here." She commanded the vampire.

"I'm not your enemy." He continued to stand over her.

"Leave or I'll scream."

"That would not be wise. I have come to save you from something worse than death." He leaned down to her neck and inhaled deeply. "Isn't this a strange turn of events? The blood of four. How…unexpected." He stood back up and looked into her eyes.

"What do you want from me?" She continued to question the man that had invaded her room.

He shook his head. "I can't tell you. Some day in the future you will thank me for what I am going to do." The man leaned back down to Michiru's neck and whispered to her. "Awaken, my child." Then she felt a throbbing pain in her neck as he bit down hard. Her world soon turned to darkness and she fell into another deep sleep.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

This time Michiru woke to a familiar face. Joe had come to visit her.

"Joe." She whispered. "It's nice to see a familiar face."

"How are you feeling? They told me you were in severe pain. I was busy with… other things at the moment."

"I feel much better today. I just keep having strange dreams."

"You've been through a lot. I'm just glad you made it through everything."

Their conversation was interrupted as a subtle knock came from the door. "Come in." Michiru spoke. The young girl that had been visiting her entered the room.

"Hello again." The girl smiled as she approached the bed. "How are you-" The girl stopped for a moment. Something about her changed when she looked down at Michiru lying on the bed. "today?" She finished her sentence.

"I'm better."

The girl continued to look down at Michiru suspiciously. It seemed the girl's entire personality had changed suddenly. "I see you are busy with someone right now. Maybe I should come back later." The girl quickly scuttled out of the room.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Once outside of the room the young girl clenched her fist. "Damn you, Victor."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Joe looked back to Michiru once the young girl left the room. "Who was that?"

"She keeps coming in my room. She said she doesn't have many friends and wanted to be my friend while I was in here."

"Actually, I came because of that. They called me and said you would be able to leave in about a week. Whatever that had been causing the pain is gone. They still aren't sure what it was but it's gone now." Joe stood and walked up to Michiru. "Are you hungry or thirsty?"

"Maybe some water."

"I'll get you some water but I have to leave soon, sorry."

Joe left the room and Michiru turned to look out the window. The sun was high in the sky and she could hear birds chirping. She sighed loudly as she remembered Haruka coming in to see her. Something about Haruka was different the day she had gone to the mansion to rescue Joe. The note was still on the table next to her when she looked at it.

"Michi." Joe's voice called from the other side of the door as he knocked. "Here's your water. You gonna be okay alone?"

Alone- it hit Michiru, she was alone. "I'll be fine." She sipped on the water and looked back out the window.

"I have to get going. If you need anything you know what number to call." Joe approached her bed and put his hand on her forehead. "Everything will be okay." He walked to the door and looked back with a smile before he left.

Michiru was alone and it upset her, she needed to take her mind off of it. She looked up at the TV in the corner of the room and turned it on. Every so often some nurses would enter her room to check on her and leave. They gave her some world famous hospital food during the day as well. For most of the day Michiru sat wondering where the young girl she had met was. She was certain the girl would return but the young girl never did.

Slowly a strange pain began to develop in Michiru's mouth. The pain was above her canines. She shrugged it off after a while. It did not bother her so much; maybe she ate something she might have had an allergy to. Something else strange happened that day- a nurse came to change the bandage on her stomach and let out a gasp. When Michiru looked down she wondered what the problem was. There was nothing wrong with her stomach. Wait- that was the problem, there was no cut, there was no scar. The nurse claimed the healing to be a miracle.

A couple days went by and she began to feel a different kind of hunger take over her body. She could not find a way to satisfy it but continued to try her best to relax. The nurse that had discovered the miracle healing kept checking on her. Then something happened.

Michiru recalled the event in a strange dream. Everything around her was a dark red haze. The nurse had come to check on her and she reached up for the woman and sank her teeth into her neck. Michiru's hunger was curved as she drank the blood from the woman's neck. The woman collapsed to the ground and looked up at Michiru with lifeless eyes – eyes of a ghoul.

Michiru woke up screaming covered in sweat. The nightmare was too frightening for her and seemed so real. She walked to the small bathroom that was conjoined with her room and looked at her reflection. Nothing was different; she looked like the same Michiru as always. That dream made her question something. Haruka had once awoken from a nightmare the same way.

Michiru leaned closer to the mirror and opened her mouth. Everything was normal- but Haruka had hidden her fangs. The idea was impossible. Vampires are not sired, they are born vampires. How would she have been turned? Perhaps the life was wearing down on her again since her encounter with Haruka about a week ago.

She traced her index finger over her teeth the same way she had done to Haruka when she discovered the blonde's secret. Surely, it was all just a horrible nightmare- "No." Michiru muttered. Her heart jerked when her finger hit what felt like a nerve and a fang slid out. "No!" Michiru gasped and hit the mirror with her fist. The mirror shattered into small shards. "I refuse to believe this. I must be going insane."

Michiru looked down at the pieces of glass on the counter. Blood was mixed in the shards from her knuckles. She gazed at her knuckles that were covered in blood and washed her hand. There were no cuts… "I refuse to believe this is happening." She seized a piece of glass and sliced across her wrist. Blood oozed out and she watched as the cut sealed almost instantly without a scar. "I can't believe this." She continued to slash at her wrist over and over watching as each cut bled and sealed.

"No!" She cried and fell to the floor. "I don't want to be a monster." Tears ran down her face.

"Ms. Kaio." A male nurse had entered the room. "Are you okay?" The man entered the bathroom and saw the broken mirror and blood splattered everywhere. "Ms. Kaio!" He picked Michiru up from the bathroom floor. She was still slashing at her wrist refusing to believe what was happening to her. "I need to get you help."

"No!" She knew the man could not get help. No one could know what was going on.

"You need help! You have gone through too much."

Michiru could not let him bring anyone else in the room. She had to do the one thing she never thought she would do. She easily overpowered the man and bit into his neck. If she could turn him into a ghoul then he would clean the mess and never tell anyone else. He would be under her control until she was able to leave. The idea made her ill to her stomach and once he was enthralled she ran to the bathroom. Her world crashed around her as she realized what she had become. She stood over the toilet and threw up every bit of blood she had just consumed from the male nurse.

"What is Joe going to think?"Michiru cried while she rested her arms on the toilet seat. "I can't live like this. I can't become what I've been fighting." Then it hit her. She was now the enemy. "No." She continued to weep over the toilet. After a while she stood and approached the nurse under her control and gave him the order to clean the mess and tell no one. He nodded and obeyed.

Everything she had ever worked for was over. Was this how Haruka felt when she found out she was a vampire? Michiru finally realized how Haruka felt the entire time as she tried to hide it from her. _"I never gave her time to explain. I just ran out the instant I saw what she was."_ She sat in her bed crying. It was horrible what she had done to Haruka. Karma was punishing her for hurting Haruka as bad as she did. The one regret she had now was not listening to her ex explain before she ran out of the hotel room. _"I can't believe I did that. She was always the same person even after she found out she was a vampire." _Michiru cried for hours when she realized the mistake she made with Haruka. It was her fault Haruka is the way she is now.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Joe came in the day Michiru was to be released. Her recovery was astonishing. When Michiru arrived home she forgot she had thrown her furniture all over the room in a fit over what Haruka had done to Joe. A couple things were broken as well. Michiru cleaned the mess she had made and went to her room. She sat on her bed thinking of her next move. Would she still be able to work with the hunters and keep it a secret? Would she return to that life or try to hide it and pursue her dream?

"I'm sorry, Haruka. I see the position you were in." Michiru looked at her desk and saw the glass dolphin Haruka had bought her for her birthday. It hit Michiru that Haruka was also caught in the middle of everything. To make things worse Haruka's mother was a vampire. "It must have been horrible for you to be in that position." She soon found herself in tears again as she lay on her bed.

After a couple of days Michiru soon felt the hunger returning. She tried to shake off the feeling but felt it grow more and more with each day that passed. "I can't take this. I need to do something." Michiru read through the old books in her mother's room to see if there was an alternate solution. Everything came up negative. Animal blood could help curve it for a while but not for long. The thought of hurting an animal was too great for Michiru. She felt her stomach churn when the only thing she could think of was consuming raw meat from the store. It was worth a try.

Michiru went shopping and picked up a few steaks all the while feeling sick to her stomach at the thought. She refused to feed on a human or an animal this had to work or she would be lost. The taste of the raw meat was not as bad she had thought it would be. It did not do much to curve her appetite. She knew she would eventually lose control of herself and attack a human.

A couple more days and she found herself walking around after a black out. It was then she knew she had attacked someone. That night she had the nightmare. She needed help but the only person that would help her was her heartbroken ex. This continued for a couple more weeks until one day after a feed she found herself in the arms of a strong man.

"Who are you?" She said as a man grabbed onto her from behind.

"Alexander."

Michiru remembered the name. Alexander – that was the name Haruka's mother had called the vampire in the mansion. Michiru knew instantly her whole world was about to shift again.

He turned her around and looked into her mouth. "Show me your fangs."

"I don't have any." Michiru tried to lie and felt him forcibly open her mouth and look inside. "See? I don't have fangs."

The man continued to look into her mouth and soon found the hiding spot. He shook his head. "We can't let you continue attacking the humans. The hunters have noticed." He continued to say as he dragged her into his car. She struggled a bit and even wanted to escape but he was too strong.

"I don't want to be like this." Michiru cried in the back seat.

"I don't know how you are like that. A human cannot be turned into a Lilin."

That was a term Michiru had heard once or twice but was never sure of what it meant. "What's a Lilin?"

"It's what we call ourselves. Vampire is a nasty word to use." Alexander drove Michiru to a familiar mansion.

"I can't go in there." Michiru panicked as she realized she would soon come face to face with her ex lover.

"I was ordered to find the Lilin responsible for attacking the humans. I have to take you to Lady Haruka."

Michiru gulped as she heard that name – Haruka. The car pulled into a garage and Alexander opened the door for Michiru to exit but she did not. "No."

"Forgive me then." He reached in to pull her out. Michiru fought against the man trying to grab her. "Don't make it more difficult than it already is." He grabbed her foot as she kicked him and pulled her out. She continued to struggle as he threw her over his shoulder.

"I can't believe this." Michiru whispered from his shoulder as he continued to carry her. He led her down a long hallway and stopped inside of a room. She could hear papers being filed in the room. The familiar smell of Haruka's cologne was present in this room.

"Lady Haruka. We found the one responsible for the attacks on the humans." Alexander spoke in his deep voice.

"Very well, Alexander. I'll deal with that later." Haruka's voice sounded irritated.

Michiru felt her heart drop. What would Haruka think when she realize Michiru was now a vampire?

"I think you should deal with it now." He commanded the blonde.

"I think it can wait. Don't question me, Alexander." The husky voice of her ex lover was still extremely irritated about something.

"Very well. I'll just leave her here then." Alexander put Michiru on the floor.

Michiru instantly fell to her knees and cowered over for a moment. She watched as Haruka paid her no attention as she continued to ruffle through papers on the desk.

"Haruka…" Michiru mumbled. She was afraid of what was about to happen. At that phrase she saw Haruka stiffen in her chair and turn around.

Haruka's eyes nearly bulged out their sockets. "Alexander!" The blonde screamed at the top of her lungs. "Why did you bring her here?"

The man reentered the room. "You told me to bring the Lilin responsible for the attacks. That's what I have done." He looked down at Michiru who was now trembling on the floor.

The blonde walked over to Michiru and knelt down next to her. "Alexander, she's not a Lilin. You know that. I want her removed from my home."

Michiru felt Alexander pick her up and open her mouth as he had done earlier.

Haruka looked inside. "See, she's not a Lilin." The blonde glared at the man holding Michiru.

Then she felt him force a fang out from its hiding spot. She wanted to cry as Haruka watched the fang slide out.

"That's impossible." Haruka took a step closer. "There's no way she had hidden it from me the whole time."

Michiru mumbled Haruka's name again and felt Alexander let her go.

"Michiru," the tone in Haruka's voice was a bit angry and concerned at the same time. "what happened to you?"

Michiru looked down to the floor. "I don't know what happened."

"Alexander, come with me." Haruka ordered the man and they stepped into the hallway.

Michiru wanted to cry at the predicament she was in. She fell to her hands and knees again to start crying. Something licked her cheek and took her by surprise. Haruka's small dog had entered the room to make her feel better. Michiru sat on the floor and held the dog that looked up at her with worried eyes.

"Alexander." Haruka argued with the man in the hallway. "There's no way she is a Lilin. She's a human- a hunter. You know as much as I know they cannot be turned."

"I know. That's what I don't understand either. In all the time the two species have lived on this world the two were never able to reproduce together. Nor were the Lilin ever able to transform a human into another Lilin."

Alexander and Haruka both leaned around the corner to peer into the room Michiru was still sitting in.

"Lady Haruka, if I may, I have a suggestion." Alexander continued to talk.

"What's that?"

"Perhaps, because your blood is different it affected her."

"My blood never-" Haruka gasped.

"I saw when you were stabbed by Lady Angeline while I stood in the other hallway. Then I saw her stab Michiru with the same blade. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"No, it can't be that. It makes sense though, but that's crazy talk."

They both leaned around the corner and looked into the room again. Michiru tried to pay them no attention as she pet the small dog in her lap.

"I have an idea." Haruka said after a moment in thought. "My father works in a lab. Maybe I can get him to do me a favor. I'll give him a sample of mine and Michiru's blood and a sample of human blood. I won't tell him what they are but I'll have him look at them. If he combines my blood with the sample of the human blood I wonder what reaction it would have."

Alexander was silent as he thought about the idea. "That would be our first step in finding out what's going on. But what are we going to do with her until then?"

Haruka sighed. "I guess she will have to stay here for now. As much as I don't want her in my home we don't have a choice. We can't risk her running around town again and attacking humans. Find her a room to stay in."

Michiru then saw Haruka quickly walking down the hallway away from the room. '_What is going to happen now?' _ Michiru thought in her head as she looked down at Benny.

"Please follow me, Miss." Alexander extended his hand for Michiru to take and stand.

_'This is the last position I ever expected to find myself in.'_ Michiru thought as she followed Alexander down the hallway.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The scene from Michiru's dream won't be answered for a very long time. Nor the creepy girl in her hospital room. I had to make some final decisions on this chapter when I wrote it as it's going to effect the rest of the story greatly.


	16. Chapter 16

All Sailor Moon characters in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Here's one for the weekend! :D

**Chapter 16**

Haruka sighed. "I guess she will have to stay here for now. As much as I don't want her in my home we don't have a choice. We can't risk her running around town again and attacking humans. Find her a room to stay in." She took one final look back at Michiru in the office and stormed down the hallway.

_'I can't believe my luck.'_ Haruka thought to herself once she entered her bedroom. All this time she had been moving on from the breakup only to be forced back into the situation. She sat at the desk in her room and pondered the events in her mind for a moment. Hopefully when she gives her father the samples he would be able to answer some questions for her.

Haruka stepped out of her room to find Benny sitting outside of her door. "Alexander." She called for the man. After a moment he appeared.

"Yes, Lady Haruka?"

"I can't sleep tonight. Can you get me three syringes?"

"Yes, Lady Haruka." He bowed and left.

Haruka went to sit in the living room while she waited for the man to return. Her dog jumped on the couch next to her and rested. Her frustration was reaching its peak as Alexander returned from the basement.

"Here you are, Lady Haruka." He handed her the three syringes.

Instantly Haruka drew blood from her own arm and handed it back to Alexander. "Please label this one 'Amara'."

"Amara?" The man questioned her.

"I don't want my name on it when I give it to my father. He will question it if it's labeled 'Haruka'."

"Good idea."

"What room did you put her in?"

"I put her in the room farthest from yours on the east side."

Haruka stood without speaking to Alexander. She sensed that he knew what she was going to do. The moment she arrived at the room Michiru was in she heard the girl crying in the room. _'Forgive me.'_ Haruka pushed the door open and saw Michiru lying on the bed.

"Haruka." Michiru was caught off guard at the sudden appearance of her ex.

Haruka approached the bed and looked down at Michiru. Without saying a word Haruka reached for Michiru's arm. The other girl fought back to get her arm out of the blonde's grasp. Haruka glared into her eyes as a warning to not fight her. Michiru relaxed as to not upset Haruka.

With syringe in hand Haruka withdrew some blood from Michiru and let her arm go. The blonde looked up at the syringe for a moment. _-What's going to happen to me?-_ She could hear Michiru's thoughts.

"Nothing." Haruka answered and walked out of the room. She found Alexander in the living room still. "Label this one 'Michelle'. I need you to open the door in the basement."

Alexander nodded and took Haruka into the basement where the humans were kept. Haruka walked around the room debating which human to draw blood from. She stopped at the one closest to her age and withdrew some blood. "Label this one 'John Doe'."

Alexander nodded and she could hear his thoughts. _–She's as smart as Lady Angeline. I'm impressed.-_

Haruka sighed from the unfortunate turn of events. "I can't believe this, Alexander." She said as she leaned against the wall after giving him the third syringe. "I was hoping she would be able to live her dream and get away from all this mess. Now she's dragged back into it and it's my fault. If I had been myself when I made that plan she would have never found herself in this situation."

"Lady Haruka, we never would have suspected it turn out like this. I only question now why your blood was able to do that, if it was your blood that caused it."

"She was a human I can tell the difference. I hope my questions will be answered soon. I'm going to try to rest." Haruka left the basement and entered the living room for a moment. She looked down the hallway on the east side where Michiru was staying and shook her head. Benny followed her to her room. Haruka did not find sleep that night.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

First sight of dawn Haruka prepared herself to visit her father. He had always told her if she needed something he would help. This was one small favor she needed him to do for her. When she exited her room Alexander was sitting with Michiru in the living room. He had given her a goblet of blood and was trying to make her drink it. Michiru kept trying to push it away. Haruka stood silently as she watched the scene.

"You need to feed." Alexander insisted each time Michiru pushed the goblet back at him.

Haruka wanted to say something about the situation but instead spoke to Alexander. "Do you have those syringes?" She questioned the man. Her voice startled Michiru.

"Right here, Lady Haruka." He stood and handed them to her.

"Thanks." Haruka's eyes shot at Michiru for a second before she left.

Her father was not home and it irritated Haruka even more. She wondered if she was still allowed in his house, she still had a key for emergencies- this was an emergency. As she entered the house it seemed a bit different. Dust had settled around the house which was odd, he always kept it clean. She wondered if everything was alright as she walked around. There was a pot of warm coffee in the kitchen so she had just missed him. It was going to be a long day but she needed to be away from the mansion.

She entered her old room. The room was even heavier with dust as it had not been cleaned since she left with Michiru. Something caught her attention though. "What the hell?" She approached her old dresser and saw about fifteen bottles on it. They were the same bottles of medicine she used to take up until the night she left his house. "Why would he still be making these? I wonder what they are for." She snatched a bottle and pocketed it. Maybe Alexander could help her figure out what they do. The rest of the day she spent dusting and cleaning his house to pass time. It was so unlike him to let the house become dirty.

Around noon Haruka heard a car pull into the driveway. She looked out of some blinds in the living room and saw it was her father's car. As he stood from his car he looked at her car in the driveway and then approached the house.

"Haruka?" He called when he entered. "You in here?"

"I'm here Dad." She said as she rounded the corner and saw him standing in the doorway.

"Is everything okay?" He asked as he walked up to her.

Something about him was way off. His eyes caught Haruka's attention. _'Shit.'_ She thought as she realized he was enthralled somehow. _'What the hell is going on lately?'_ "Hey I just came to see you." The instant she realized he was under someone's control she knew he could not be trusted. "I cleaned up the house. I noticed there was a lot of dust around."

"Oh. I've been really busy lately at work. I haven't been able to clean."

Haruka continued to watch him as he walked around the house. She had to get out of here before something bad happened. "Oh, well, I'm glad everything is okay then." _'How do I get out of here without looking suspicious?'_

"Yeah. Are you hungry?" He asked and put his bag on the table. Inside was another bottle of 'medicine'.

"No thanks. I just ate." She looked at the medicine in his bag. "Dad, why do you make these?" She questioned him.

"It's something I've always made for you."

Haruka was frustrated. She put her hands in her pockets and quickly withdrew her phone. "I have to go. Someone's calling it looks like an emergency." She lied and walked out of the house.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Alexander." Haruka approached her right hand man. "Something strange is going on lately. I don't know what it is. I couldn't give my father the samples. He was enthralled."

Alexander was shocked. "Why would anyone need him?"

"I don't know! The whole thing just keeps getting stranger and stranger. I took this from his house too." She removed the bottle from her pocket and showed Alexander. "I used to inject this into myself and now I'm starting to really question what it was for."

Alexander looked at the liquid from the clear bottle. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Is there something we can do? Surely there has to be a microscope or lab equipment or something in this house we can use." Haruka continued to argue with Alexander as Michiru had entered the room quietly.

"I can probably get some for you, but, I don't know if we'll be able to understand the reaction everything would have when it's combined."

"I don't care. Find something." Haruka ordered Alexander and the man left.

"Haruka." She heard Michiru say from behind her. "What's going on?"

Haruka balled her hands into fists from anger. "Don't worry about it." She gritted her teeth as she spoke.

"Can we talk?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Haruka turned and glared at Michiru. "Why do you suddenly want to talk to me? Is it because you are what I am now? Don't forget how quickly you ran off when you found out what I was hiding."

"I'm sorry." Michiru bowed her head and looked at the floor.

"Sorry won't do anything for you. As soon as we figure out what's going on here you are going back home." Haruka watched as Michiru ran back to her room. "I'm sorry, Michiru." She whispered once the other girl had disappeared.

Hours went by until Alexander returned. He had several boxes in his truck and Haruka helped him take them down to the basement. They set up everything in the room where the human's were resting and locked the door behind them.

"Do you know how to work any of this stuff?" Haruka questioned Alexander.

"I've seen some of it used before. I bought everything that looked important. All we can do is try different things."

"Maybe I should have taken more of those bottles from my father's home. We only have a small amount. I'm sure I would be able to get back into his house while he's gone and get more if I need to."

The two sat quietly and looked at the equipment. Haruka approached a microscope and messed with it for a while. Focusing it in and out and getting used to how it worked. "Let me see the human blood." She held her hand out for the syringe. "First time for everything, I guess."

Alexander passed her a Petri dish and the syringe. She emptied a small amount into the dish. She was unsure of what she was looking for with the blood and asked for a Petri dish with her own blood in it. Under the microscope it was completely different from the human's. "Well, that's expected." She muttered as she observed it some more and asked for the blood she had withdrew from her ex. Michiru's blood looked very similar to Haruka's. "Alexander, I want some of yours." The man obeyed and when his blood was placed under the microscope it was slightly different from the human's and both Haruka's and Michiru's.

"I thought it would be something like that." Alexander said after he observed each sample.

"Now what happens if we put a bit of that solution into the blood?" Haruka questioned the man next to her. "I'm afraid to see what happens." She opened the bottle of the 'medicine' and observed closely in the microscope as she added it to the human blood. "Not much of a reaction- hardly any at all. The blood kind of separated away from it though."

She then mixed the solution with her own sample. Instead of the blood separating from it the solution formed some kind of barrier around the blood. "Well, that's odd." Haruka continued to look at it. She mixed the solution with Michiru's and Alexander's blood for the same result.

"I don't understand." Haruka threw her hands into the air. "Obviously we don't know what we are looking at here. But there is some kind of reaction only with our blood."

"The only other blood we need now is hunter's blood. Their blood is slightly different from a normal human." Alexander tapped his chin. "But how would we get blood from a hunter without causing a scene?"

"The only hunter I know is Joe and he sure as hell wouldn't help." Haruka sighed from frustration and leaned back in her chair.

"What about Miss Michiru helping?"

"I don't want her to get involved. I've done enough to ruin her life already."

"Mix your blood with the human's blood." Alexander slid an empty Petri dish to Haruka.

She carefully put a small bit of human blood on it and then a bit of hers. They observed the reaction. The blood from Haruka combined with the human's blood but something about it was incomplete. It looked similar to her own blood but something was different.

"Do you think it needs something else?" She questioned the man next to her.

"I'm not sure. Add some of that solution to it."

Haruka added the solution to the blood and found the same reaction it had with the Lilin blood. "Doesn't tell us much more other than it only does that to Lilin blood. I don't know what else to do here. I'm going to go back upstairs." Haruka left the room and entered the large living room. Michiru was sitting on the couch and there was someone sitting next to her – it was Lucas.

"Lucas." Haruka rubbed her forehead. "Why are you in my home again?"

The crazy man stood quickly and walked over to Haruka. He looked at her for a moment and seemed to drift out of reality.

"Lucas?"

He put his hands on Haruka's shoulders. "World sharking!" He shook her for a moment and stopped. "How do you feel about miniskirts?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in one." Haruka stepped back out of his reach.

"I could have sworn I saw you... ah well never mind. My mind sometimes drifts into other realities. Anyways, I want to know if you have thought about my proposition." He seemed to stare right into her soul as he spoke. "So?"

"No."

"Well that's fine, I can have my clan mates continue running amuck and causing a problem for those hunters. Oh, oh and I can do other things too."

Haruka was angered at that statement.

"Yes, yes." Lucas continued. "You know you are going to have to do it someday if I continue. Don't you? Well let's see." He paced in circles for a moment. "How about that friend of yours… what was his name…? Bob… Barney. Blake! Yes. He's a human isn't he?"

No matter what Haruka tried she kept leading him on in her thoughts. She knew he was too fast for her to stop her thoughts. "Don't you dare touch him."

"Oh, well, I won't if you do what I've asked."

"Get out of my house." Haruka pointed in the direction of the front door.

"Pity. I would keep an eye on your friends." Lucas smirked and skipped out of the mansion.

"Haruka." Michiru spoke from the couch.

"What?" Haruka glanced at her.  
"I need to talk to you about something."

"Did you forget what I said earlier? You want to talk to me now - now that it's the right time for you. It's not the right time for me. I don't think it will ever be the right time to talk." Haruka stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her temper was rising.

"It's not about us." Michiru tried to beg.

Haruka huffed. She did not want to have a conversation with Michiru. "What is it about then?"

"It was when I was in the hospital."

"What about it?"

"I kept having strange dreams. Well, I thought they were strange dreams. I had one that a man had visited me in the hospital. He was very pale and wore a trench coat."

Instantly the conversation interested Haruka. Why would Victor visit Michiru? "Go on."

"He said his name was Victor."

_'Victor!'_ Haruka thought to herself. "What did he want?"

Michiru looked at the floor. "He said he was there to save me from something worse than death- that I would thank him one day for what he was going to do. Then he bit me and I fell asleep."

Haruka pondered. Victor. He had bit her too and that was when everything seemed to have changed. The next day she remembered having pain in her mouth and Blake complaining about how hard she was throwing snowballs. "Did he say anything else?"

"Well," Michiru was silent as she tried to remember. "He whispered something to me before he bit me."

"Awaken, my child." Haruka muttered.

"How did you know?"

"He said the same thing to me." As much as Haruka was trying to avoid telling Michiru anything she could not stop herself. All the time she had kept that side of her life a secret from Michiru. She never told Michiru about anything she went through regarding her discovery of being a Lilin. "Did you have pain in your mouth the next day?"

"I did." Michiru sniffled a bit. "It must have been hard for you."

"I don't want to talk about my life. But, if it will make you happy – yeah it was hard for me. It was hard on me. Then it was even harder when I saw you kill a Lilin. You know how it made me feel? From that moment on I knew I was caught in the middle. I knew that if I ever told you what I was you would up and leave." Haruka threw her hands in the air as she talked and motioned with them. "Then you found out what I had been hiding." She pointed at Michiru with her index finger. "And you walked away. Fate has a strange sense of humor, doesn't it? The hunter becomes the hunted. Now you're in my shoes. Maybe you should go hang out with your hunter friends and see what it felt like for me. See how bad it hurts to hide it from the people you care about, the people you love. It was awful. Not to mention the whole time my mother was barking orders at me. I could not choose a side. I was in the middle. You see what I had to deal with?" Haruka turned away from Michiru and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Now you can feel what I felt. You can feel the betrayal I felt every day I was with you. Just so you know I never told my mother a thing about the hunters. I tried to be as loyal to you as I could all the while being pulled at from both sides. And in the end this is where I ended up." Haruka paused. All this time she had bottled up all of her feelings and emotion. It felt great to finally say it all. "The one person I thought I could trust once I left your house was my mother. Then I discovered her plot to kill me. She had been planning it since the day I met her. In the end the only person I have ever been able to put full faith in is Alexander. I can't even trust my own father and I certainly can't trust you."

"I'm sorry, Haruka." Michiru had approached the angry blonde and put a hand on her back.

"Don't touch me." Haruka said without moving. "You lost the right to touch me the day you walked away."

Michiru withdrew her hand from her angry ex. Haruka turned and looked deep into Michiru's eyes. She wanted to know what the other girl was thinking. _–I was such a fool. I can't believe what I did to her.-_

"I gave you everything I held dear." Haruka continued. "I gave you my heart, my soul and my body and you threw it away."

_-I'm so sorry.-_ Haruka continued to listen in on Michiru's thoughts.

"Sorry won't do anything for you." Haruka was too angry to realize Michiru was thinking and not talking.

"What?"

"No matter how much you say you're sorry to me it won't change anything."

"I never said that."

Haruka turned away again. She could not let Michiru know she could hear surface thoughts of others. "Never mind." Haruka said and stormed down the hallway to her room.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Little did Haruka know Alexander had been standing in the hallway and heard everything. He was upset to see the argument. It hurt him to watch the two girls fight with each other as they did. He knew how much they both cared for each other.

"Miss Michiru." He approached the girl still standing in the living room. "Is everything okay?"

She turned to Alexander to speak. "I wish I understood her more."

Alexander sat on the couch and motioned for Michiru to follow. "She's been through a lot. She may not act like it when she's around you but she really cares about you."

"I just regret what I did to her when I left her. The moment I saw she was not human I ran. All my life I was told you guys were the enemy. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Just from being in this place for the small amount of it time I have been I can see it's not as it seems."

"We aren't the enemy. Maybe in the past we were. My ancestors believed since they were immortal they should rule the humans. The humans had short lives and my ancestors lived forever. It's a shame that we are judged by our past."

Michiru nodded. It was not just the fact that she was now a Lilin herself now, but, because she understood. "I wonder if I there was anything I could do to convince my fellow hunters you guys aren't the enemies."

"Do you know how the treaty was broken?" Alexander questioned Michiru.

"No, just that a vampire suddenly began to attack people in the college." It hit her. "Haruka was the one that did it, wasn't she?"

Alexander nodded. "Much like what happened to you. She had no idea what was going on. She never even knew we existed. Imagine that- having your world turned upside down, discovering things you never thought were real. When it began to happen to you at least you knew what was going on. She had no idea."

"Was she turned?"

"No. She was born like that. She's also the first ever half-breed."

Michiru gasped. "Will she get mad at you for telling me these things?"

"I don't think that is something to worry about. I just want you to understand her a bit more. That's all I'm going to say though. She will tell you the rest when the time comes." Alexander smiled revealing his fangs.

"I don't think that time will ever come."

"I'm a firm believer in fate."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Damn you, Victor!" Haruka threw her nightstand at the wall. The piece of furniture exploded on impact and left a hole in the wall. "Why can't you just come and explain everything!? I'm tired of everything being such a secret. I'm tired of my questions being answered with more questions." Haruka picked up the chair at her desk and tossed it across the room as well.

She continued rampaging through her room as she yelled. Once she had finished it looked as though a tornado had gone through her room. With a frustrated sigh she opened the door to her room and stepped out. Michiru was standing in the hallway. "What do you want?" Haruka roared at the shorter girl.

Michiru's expression changed from worry to anger the instant Haruka shouted at her. "Why do you act like everything is my fault?" She approached the furious blonde girl and pointed a finger into her chest. "Every time you see me you yell at me."

"You will never know how bad you hurt me." Haruka shoved Michiru's finger away from her chest. "Every time I see you I remember what it felt like to watch that hotel door slam behind you."

"Did you ever take the time to think of what I felt when I saw I had been lied to?" Michiru began to prod Haruka in the chest again.

"I never lied to you. I just never told you what I was." Haruka pushed the finger away from her chest once more. "I was scared. I was scared to lose you. But I lost you." She crossed her arms across her chest. "So, now that you are here. Now that you are what you've been fighting. Do you think we are the enemy? We do what any other being does, we try to survive. We have to live in hiding for fear of the hunters." Haruka's heart had begun to beat incredibly fast. She wiped her eyes before tears fell. "Sure, I hid it from you. So I ask, if I had told you and come clean… Would you have listened to me? Would you have given me the chance to prove we aren't the enemy?"

Michiru stood silently. _–No. I would have done the same thing. I was such a fool.-_ She looked up at Haruka. "No. All my life I hear the vampires are evil and they are the enemy. I hear they cannot be trusted. I would have run away either way and I'm sorry for that. I never gave you the chance to explain. My first thought was you were a spy. That broke my heart even more." She stopped for a moment.

"I never even told my mother your name or your false name. I never told her I was dating a hunter while I was with you. The only thing she learned from me was about the weapon but she knew about that already. The night Joe's car was vandalized in the neighborhood was a setup by my mother I never knew about. The female Lilin that escaped told my mother I was working with hunters. She approached me about it and I had to make up a lie quickly why I was with you guys. I lied more to her than I did you." Haruka rubbed her hands on her face and through her hair. "Now that my mother is dead I have to clean up the mess I started. I have to fix everything between the hunters and the Lilin." Their argument began to slowly calm down. Haruka's anger had dwindled; she could not stay mad at Michiru. No matter how much she wanted to hate the girl standing in front of her she could not.

"Haruka." Michiru whispered.

Haruka closed her eyes tightly to prevent tears from escaping. Despite everything she had tried to do to get over Michiru she still loved her. Haruka sniffled a bit and wondered what was going to happen next in her life. When was Victor going to reappear and answer all of her questions? Before her thoughts could continue she felt Michiru's lips on hers. "What did I say earlier?" She pushed the shorter girl away from her. "You lost the right to touch me the day you-" This time Michiru was more forceful and grabbed Haruka's head to kiss her again.

Haruka tried to push her away again but found Michiru's strength matched her own. She tried to fight the shorter girl off of her for a few more seconds and finally gave in. The passion Haruka had once felt ignited again despite everything that happened. They were finally beginning to understand stand each other again. Haruka wrapped her arms around the familiar body and pulled her closer. She wanted to push Michiru away from her but instead found herself stepping back into her dismantled room and slammed the door closed.

The instant they were alone in the room Michiru's hands roamed over Haruka's chest and pulled her vest and shirt open and threw them to the floor. Haruka was surprised she allowed Michiru into her room so quickly but allowed the events to unfold. The blue eyes of her ex gazed hungrily at her breasts hidden beneath her bra. Haruka press her lips back onto Michiru's lips and welcomed her tongue into her mouth. She could feel the smaller hands running over her back and picked Michiru up never once parting from the heated kiss.

The blonde placed Michiru on her bed and then assaulted her neck with kisses. She felt Michiru working to remove her bra as she began to nibble on the familiar collarbone. Once her bra was removed Haruka removed Michiru's dress with one swift move and looked down at the hourglass figure under her. Haruka moved to the other side of Michiru's neck and placed more hungry kisses on it all the while she tore off Michiru's bra. Her lips moved to the exposed breasts of the girl she sat atop.

Haruka smirked, she knew Michiru was in for a new experience now that she was a Lilin too. The blonde's tongue quickly began to stroke Michiru's nipple. The reaction was just as she expected. Michiru dug her hands into Haruka's hair and tried to push her back. The sensation was far more intense for her now. Haruka reached up and grasped the small hands forcing them away from her head.

The whole situation exited Haruka more as she moved down Michiru's stomach placing small, passionate kisses on her soft skin. Haruka soon found herself enjoying the familiar taste of her ex as she worked her tongue below Michiru's waist. Michiru did the same as Haruka used to do, she reached for a pillow and put it over face to muffle her screams of pure ecstasy.

The moment Michiru reached her climax she tried to push Haruka away but the blonde did not move. She continued to pleasure the smaller girl and listen to each scream she made until she gave her another orgasm. Haruka slowly moved back up to look into Michiru's eyes. Sweat had accumulated on her forehead. She continued to stare into the blue eyes. When Michiru tried to take charge of the event Haruka rolled away to the other side of the bed. In Haruka's mind Michiru still had no right to touch her even after what she had just done with the other girl. Michiru rolled away from Haruka as well to catch her breath.

Haruka soon stood to put on her robe and walked out of the room. She left Michiru questioning what had just happened. She found Alexander sitting in the living room reading a book as he usually did before he went to bed. He looked up at the blonde that had approached. The robe was a sign of what had just happened.

"Lady Haruka." He began to speak but she interrupted him.

"Just because she was in my bed doesn't mean I forgive her. It doesn't mean we're back together either."

Alexander slammed his book closed and placed it next to him. The frustration emanating from the man was at its peak. He stood and approached Haruka with angry eyes. "Lady Haruka." He glared into her eyes. "You know you are making a mistake by saying that."

Haruka was shocked to see the way he had approached her. "What do you know about love?"

Alexander took a step back his eyes never diverting from Haruka's. "Let me tell you a story." He crossed his arms across his chest and began. "I was in love once, too. She was a human." Haruka's eyes opened wide. "But you know as well as I know they don't live as long as we do. She was also a hunter. This was before the treaty was made. What we had was completely forbidden. For years we hid our feelings from everyone. So, we ran away one day. We found a new place to live." For the first time Alexander began to show emotions. "We even got married. I watched as she grew older and I never aged. I stood by her bedside the day she passed. With her final bit of strength and her last breath she looked at me. She put her hand on my cheek and told me she loved me with all of her heart. Then her hand fell onto the bed and she was gone."

Haruka had never seen Alexander cry. He tried his hardest to force tears back as he continued. "That was over a thousand years ago and I still love her." He finished his story. Haruka had never noticed before but Alexander still wore the wedding band on his finger. "You have the opportunity I never had. She's not a human anymore and you two can live together forever. You are too stubborn to let her back into your life. Fate favors both of you to give you this once in a life time chance." He wiped a few tears from his face with the hand that wore the wedding band. "I would have given anything to have the chance you have."

Haruka was shocked by what Alexander had just told her. "I keep hearing the word fate thrown around." She walked to the couch and sat on the arm of it. "Fate this, fate that. I used to think we controlled our own lives." She paused for a moment. "You know, Michiru was in a huge televised TV show."

"I heard as you watched it in your room."

"I watched every show and cheered for her. I wanted her to be happy and live her dream. The final show they wanted the audience to get more involved. They wanted the viewers to send in poems and short stories. I figured I never had a chance to get mine selected. So I wrote a small poem and sent it in. 'When the Sky rains' by Amara. You could imagine the shock I had when Michiru approached the stage with the poem I had written. Thousands of poems, thousands of short stories and mine made it to her. I figured fate was playing a cruel joke on me."

Alexander stopped Haruka as he held his hand up. "There are some things in the world we should not question. The fact your poem made it to her should have been enough to show you that you two belong together. You need to make amends and work things out. One day you will regret it when you see her with someone else."

"Now you sound like Blake." Haruka stood from the arm of the couch. "He said the same thing when I first met Michiru."

"Go back and talk to her. You two need to forgive each other." Alexander took his book from the couch and left the room.

Haruka remained still as she thought of what Alexander had just told her. She had a chance at a love Alexander would have given anything for. Slowly, she walked back to her room unsure if Michiru was still in her bed.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Michiru stood at Haruka's doorway as the blonde left the room. She heard Haruka and Alexander arguing in the living room. The story Alexander told Haruka of his love brought tears to Michiru's eyes. After all that time he still loved her. Then she heard Haruka talk of the poem she had written. _'I can't believe it.'_ She felt shivers run through her body when she heard Haruka had written the poem. No wonder it felt like it was meant for her. Then she heard Alexander leave the room and soon the lighter footsteps of Haruka were approaching the room she stood in. She quickly went back into the bed and faced away from the door.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka arrived at the door that was still slightly ajar from when she left. Inside she saw Michiru laying on her bed still. She closed the door behind her, dropped her robe and crawled into the bed. For a moment she remained on her hands and knees and debated on everything. She shook her head and lay down behind Michiru pulling her close- the same way they used to sleep together. Michiru put her hand over Haruka's arm and with a deep breath she fell asleep.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Lady Haruka!" Alexander's voice boomed from the other side of the door in the early morning. "Lady Haruka!" He banged on the door with his hands. "You need to get up this second! We have a problem!"

Haruka jerked awake at the sudden interruption. She felt a warm weight on her chest and realized Michiru was resting on her. Michiru jerked awake as well.

"Lady Haruka!" Alexander continued to yell.

Both girls sat up in the bed and looked at the door. Haruka ran to pick up her robe and put it on. She opened her door and found Alexander with a frightened look on his face.

"We have an emergency." He panted. "Lucas just called."

"What does he need?"

"He says he needs to talk to you."

"He knows my answer."

"He says he has someone with him named Blake."

Haruka felt as though someone had just socked her into the stomach. Her eyes bulged from their sockets. "How did he find Blake!?"


	17. Chapter 17

All Sailor Moon characters in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Where did I get the inspiration for writing this? Actually about 10 years ago I had a dream one night. Sure, the dream was far from what this story is about. In my dream it was actually about a man that was a vampire and a woman. They couldn't be together because they were different but she wanted to him to turn her so they could be together. lol Well the story has definitely evolved far from that dream as you have seen. I stopped writing the story when Twilight got big. I didn't want to feel like I was following a vampire trend. So for about 10 years I've just been trying to create this world in my mind and make it different from most vampire stories that people see and read. My roommate and I both like to write stories so at night sometimes her and I sit and talk about our stories. She's given me a few awesome ideas for this one. She also gave me an idea to do more than just this story alone. She wanted me to include other Sailor Scouts in it as well so I'm going to slowly introduce a few more. I just hope the this new idea doesn't blow up in my face. :P I will say one thing... the overall storyline won't end with Haruka and Michiru. So you can expect 2 more stories. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to really think on the other two as I've been so focused on this one.

Anyways, here is the next chapter. It's kind of freaky and weird but Haruka finally gets some important answers here...

Chapter 17

"I can't believe this. How did he find where he lived?" Haruka asked Alexander.

"He has his ways. He probably saw you on TV when you broke that record months ago and he put the pieces together. Probably found your college and prodded around. There are endless possibilities."

"What all did he say?" Haruka was a cross between worried and furious. Now Blake was getting involved too.

"He said the same as usual. He wants you to go through with his proposition and then he will let Blake go."

"Tell him to not do anything I'll go meet with him. I need to get changed first. I need to deal with this today." Haruka closed the door and went to the bathroom conjoined with her bedroom. She leaned on the counter for a moment on her hands. _'I can't believe this._ _Everyone is getting mixed up with my life now.'_

"Haruka." Michiru had entered the bathroom. "What's wrong?" She was still unsure of how she should react around Haruka as she approached her.

Haruka looked up into the mirror to see a fully nude Michiru standing in the doorway. "I'm tired of this life. Everything I do backfires on me." Her tone had completely changed from the night before when they were arguing. The conversation with Alexander made her rethink everything regarding Michiru. "I can't do anything right." She sighed.

"Do you want to talk about what's going on?" Michiru cautiously approached the blonde standing at the counter.

"Lucas wants me to kill him." Haruka spoke softly.

"Why would he want that?" The shorter girl continued to approach Haruka.

"I don't know. In his clan you kill to get to the top. In my clan you inherit the position. I became leader when my mother died." Haruka continued to talk and felt Michiru place a gentle hand on her back. The touch sent shivers down her spine. "Somehow I was born with blood from his clan as well. I have some greater destiny that I'm supposed to unite the two clans and the hunters. And I also have the blood of a clan destroyed over a thousand years ago. I still don't know how I have them all. But since I have Lucas' clan's blood in me I can take the rightful seat as head of his clan and combine the two clans."

"You've killed vampires before."

"The way I have to kill him is different. I can't use the weapon… I'd have to drink him dry." Both girls spoke in soft tones. It was the way they used to talk to each other before the whole incident.

"Does something bad happen when you do that?"

"You saw how crazy he was. There's no telling how many Lilin he went through to get to the top. Once a Lilin kills another Lilin by drinking all their blood they are never the same. The day you came to the mansion-" Haruka paused and silently apologized to Michiru for what she had done to her. "I was under the influence of Lilin blood. A small bit, but it was enough to make me treat you the way I did. It was enough for me to make the plan that put you in danger." She turned around to face the other girl. "I can't imagine what would happen if I drank all the blood from him. I'd never be the same again. I don't want that." She shook her head. "But Blake's in danger. I don't have a choice now, do I?"

"I'm still learning new things now that I'm on the other side. But, I think you are strong enough. You've always been so strong." Michiru put a comforting hand on Haruka's cheek.  
"I don't know if it has anything to do with being strong." She closed her eyes as she felt the gentle touch of Michiru on her face.

"What if I go through with it and I'm never myself again? I'll become Amara again. What it I stay that way forever?" For the first time in months Haruka was finally able to open to someone again.

Michiru put her other hand on Haruka's other cheek and brought her face down to hers. "After everything that has happened… I think you can do this. You always come out on the top. And if you allow it I will be there to help you."

"Michi, I don't want you to get involved. I always wanted you to live your dream and be happy. I only seem to cause you pain."

"Don't I get a choice at what I want?" Michiru questioned.

"I should get ready." Haruka knew she had to get to Lucas as fast as she could. There was no telling what the man would do.

"Will you let me help you?"

Haruka took a deep breath before answering. Their relationship was at the first stage of mending and if she became Amara it would take a hundred steps back. Michiru would be hurt in the end, she knew it.

"I don't care what happens. I want to be there for you."

"I guess I can't stop you. It'll be a rough road. I should get ready." Haruka embraced Michiru for the first time in months. Despite what had happened between the two Haruka still felt that invisible pull toward the shorter girl. She drew back from the hug and kissed Michiru briefly. "I need to get in the shower." Haruka parted from Michiru and turned to her shower. The moment she was in she felt a familiar body brush up behind hers. She welcomed the other girl inside of the shower. This may be the last time she would enjoy these types of moments with Michiru.

After the shower Haruka got ready as fast as she could. "I can have Alexander get you some clothes if you like. No reason to wear dirty ones." Haruka said as she buttoned up her vest.

"Alright." Michiru sat on the bed. She covered herself with the blanket while Haruka prepared for the task at hand.

"I'm nervous." The blonde continued as she now adjusted her tie. "I don't like the person I become when I drink Lilin blood." She put some cologne on as the final touch and turned to Michiru. "I hope I can manage." Haruka walked up to the bed Michiru was sitting on and looked into her blue eyes. "I'm sorry for everything."

"Me too." Michiru leaned in to steal a kiss. "So sorry."

Haruka did not want to part but she had to. Outside of the room Alexander was waiting. She gave him the order to find something for Michiru to wear and he did so. Haruka paced in the living room debating on what she was about to do. Once Alexander had found something for Michiru to wear he joined Haruka.

"Alexander, I'm not sure about this. You know how I am when I drink Lilin blood."

"I don't want to see it happen either. We both know it's the next step to unite the clans. Then we can work on settling things with the hunters."

"Did Lucas say where he was at?"

"He said he was at Blake's apartment."

Haruka felt her anger rising. Now she would have to explain things to Blake. How would she do that? "Let's go."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Outside of Blake's apartment were two men in black suits. Lucas had brought some henchmen with him. Haruka eyed both of them cautiously. When she approached the apartment the two men did not move. Inside Blake was sitting on his bed. Luckily for Haruka, Lucas had enthralled him before too much happened. Lucas was sitting next to Blake.

"I see you came." Lucas glared at Haruka.

"Why is it so important to you that I go through with this?." Haruka asked as she entered the apartment with Alexander behind her.

"I told you. I am tired of living like this." Lucas kept his gaze on Haruka.

"Why does it have to be me?"

"You need to unite the two clans."

Haruka huffed. "Why is it so important to you that they are united?"

Lucas was trying hard to stay focused on the conversation. "It just needs to be done. You're the only one that can do it. Did you ever ask your mother why she sent you to my home? No? She wanted me to kill you. But when I noticed exactly who you were, what you were… I knew you were my chance to escape this life. I don't want to go on living. I regret what I've done to get to my position. I want you to take away my pain."

Haruka was irritated with the man. She knew she had to do it but never wanted to. "Can we do this somewhere safer? I prefer to be in my home, we have a special room where I can be locked away." She cringed when she thought of being in the room again.

"Perfect!" Lucas hopped up quickly and poked his head out of the door. "Donovan, put this kid in the car. We're going for a ride." He spoke to one of the men standing outside.

"Why can't you leave Blake here?"

"He's my leverage." Lucas grinned.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka entered the mansion slowly. She hated the idea of what was to come. Michiru was waiting in the living room for Haruka and Alexander to return. Haruka's nerves were completely shot when she arrived. Lucas was directly behind her followed by the man carrying Blake. Michiru gasped when she saw Blake slung over the man's shoulder.

"Where to?" Lucas rubbed his hands together evilly.

"This way." Haruka exhaled deeply and led Lucas to the basement. Michiru followed in the back."Let's get this over with."

They stopped at the huge steel door and Alexander began to unlock it. All the while Haruka could hear every thought the man was thinking while doing so.

_-I never thought we would be back down here. I hope she's strong enough to do this. No Lilin has ever come out the same. -_

The door creaked loudly as he pushed it open. Alexander turned on the dim light and took one glance at the room.

"Alexander." Haruka approached the man and put her hand on his shoulder. "If anything happens to me you're in charge." She turned and looked at Michiru. "Take care of her for me."

Haruka entered the room. She remembered being locked in this room a couple weeks ago. It was horrible. The blonde approached the table and sat on it with her legs dangling over one side. Michiru walked toward Haruka and stared into her eyes.

"I'm sure everything will be fine in the end." Michiru took one of Haruka's hands.

"I don't know what's going to happen. There will probably be some things I will say that will be hurtful. Just know I don't mean any of them. Alright?" Haruka pulled Michiru close to her. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I have to protect my friends though." She looked down into the blue eyes of the girl in front of her. "Here goes nothing." The moment their lips met Lucas interrupted.

"Ahem. Sorry to break up this little love fest but I've got something important that needs to be done. Okay? Good. Now shoo." He pushed Michiru away.

"No need to be so damn rude." Haruka glared at Lucas. "I may never be able to do anything with her again."

"Not my problem is it? I hope you're comfortable. It's going to be a long ride."

Alexander entered the room and stood next to Haruka. Michiru stood on the other side of the table. "The instant Lucas is dead we have to tie her up to this table as fast as we can." He spoke to Michiru calmly.

Lucas smacked his lips a bit and rubbed his hands together. "Yeah, yeah. Look, I got a date with death. Let's hurry this up a bit."

"You seem too cheerful for someone that wants to die." Haruka turned to look at the crazy man.

"You will see what it feels like to be in my shoes soon enough." Lucas leaned forward to Haruka and pointed at his neck. "Now, do it or I'll have them torture that guy out there until he begs for death."

Haruka grabbed Lucas by the face and pulled him into her possession.

"Make it quick." Lucas muttered.

Her fangs slid out from their hiding spot and she bit into his neck. Michiru gasped and covered her mouth as she watched Haruka slowly kill the man in front of her. With each drop of blood she consumed Haruka could feel the poison entering her body. She wanted to push him away but she had to save Blake. The faces of Michiru and Alexander slowly faded away as she began to lose herself. Soon the room grew dark and she lost her grip on Lucas.

"Pick him up quickly." Alexander's words echoed as Lucas fell to the floor. "She can't stop now, she's too far into it."

Michiru picked Lucas up and returned him to Haruka's grip. Her fangs sank back into this neck. Images began to obscure her vision. None of them made sense. They were small glimpses of random objects, people, and places. She watched as though she could see through Lucas' eyes as he killed each Lilin. Her grip on reality slowly became more and more distorted. Then she dropped a body that resembled that of a mummy.

"Quickly, strap her down!" She could hardly hear Alexander speak as he pushed her down onto the table.

Her body began to convulse as she went into shock. Everything was fading. The light above her head turned to dark and all noise became a subtle echo. Then she found herself gasping for breath in the darkness. It felt as though someone was suffocating her. She tried to remove the weight she felt on her throat but her hands were bound. Slowly she released her breath. For a moment she felt nothing then she opened her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her body was no longer bound to the table. She looked to her right and saw her white sleeve was stained with blood. There was a weight on her stomach and she looked down to see aqua colored hair. Michiru was lying over her stomach.

"Michiru." She whispered.

Instantly Michiru stood and looked down at Haruka. "Amara?" She questioned the blonde on the table.

"When does everything start?" Haruka continued to whisper.

"Haruka…"

"Isn't something supposed to happen?"

"Haruka, you killed Lucas two months ago."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

~Two months ago~

Haruka found herself sitting on a swing in the old park she used to visit as a child. It felt like a ghost town, even the air was stale. She looked around to see if she could find someone but she was the only one here.

"Hello?" She called. Her voice hardly carried away in the stale air. She stood from the swing and took a few steps. Her world shifted around her and she was now standing on the doorstep of Lucas' mansion.

"How nice of you to visit me again." The familiar voice of Lucas spoke behind her.

Haruka turned around to talk to Lucas. The streets were all dead, not a single car was present. Atlanta felt like a ghost town as well.

"You will never escape this nightmare now. Welcome to my world."

The scene faded quickly and Haruka now found herself standing in a small, empty room. In one corner she can hear muffled cries. "Who's there?" She questioned as she approached a woman sitting down and facing the corner. As she got closer she made out aqua colored hair. "Michiru?" She asked and the woman continued to cry.

"Haruka." The woman spoke with a shaking voice. "Look what you did to me." Michiru turned around to face Haruka.

"No." Haruka muttered as she saw what Michiru was crying about. The aqua haired girl sat holding something that looked like rope, a blood stained rope.

"You did this to me." She looked down at the rope in her hands. Haruka looked closer, it was not a rope. Michiru's stomach had been cut clean open and she sat holding her own intestines. "It's your fault I'm dead."

Lucas' voice carried through the room. "Haruka, don't you remember what you did? You killed Michiru when you made that plan to kill your mother. Joe accidently gave her the real dagger instead. It killed her the instant she was stabbed."

"No, it didn't happen like that. She's alive."

"Are you sure?" She heard Joe behind her. He raised an old book up and hit Haruka in the head knocking her out.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

**_~Meanwhile~_**

Alexander and Michiru managed to strap Haruka to the table. Both ran out of the room carrying what remained of Lucas. Alexander bolted the door shut. Michiru peered into the sliding window on the door and watched. Haruka stopped twitching and slowly turned her head to face the door.  
"Michiru!" The blonde called from the table. "Let me out of here." Her eyes had changed. They were no longer the bright green color they had always been. Her eyes were now entirely blood red.

Michiru could only stand silently as she watched Haruka.

"I can't believe this." Haruka called from the table and began to fight the restraints. "Why would you tie me to the table? This is bullshit." She continued to struggle with the restraints. "When I get out of here, you're next."

"Haruka…" Michiru whispered.

"Haruka! No, Haruka is lost. She's gone. You'll never see her again." Amara's blood red eyes never left the window Michiru was looking through. "Amara is here to stay."

The blonde continued to struggle with a restraint. The restraint dug into her arm causing blood to soak her sleeve. "These restraints are so pathetic." She began to talk to herself out loud. Her arm broke free of the restraint. Blood dripped onto the floor from where she had gashed her arm open. The wound sealed and she began to work on removing the restraint on her other arm. "What will I do when I get out of here first? Don't think that door will save you." She pulled at the strap holding her other hand down. "I'm going to fuck up your world… after I fuck you." Amara cackled loudly. The second restraint finally released and she sat up on the table. "I see you, bitch." Her eyes burned into Michiru's very soul.

Alexander put a hand on Michiru's shoulder. "Don't take anything she says serious. The first couple of days are going to be the worst."

"I'll try not to…" Michiru stared straight into Amara's eyes through the window.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka now finds herself standing in a familiar place. It was the parking lot at the college she used to attend. She stood in front of her old yellow Mustang. The air here is stale as well.

"Hey there hot stuff. Miss me?" She heard a man say behind her. Something about this scene was familiar.

Lucas' voice boomed loudly again. "Do you remember when you took a human life? You took it without regrets."

Haruka turned to see Justin, the man that had raped her.

"You do remember, don't you?" Lucas' voice continued to speak. "You're pure evil. You were born a monster."

"No." Haruka mumbled.

She now found herself tearing the flesh off of Justin's neck as she ravaged him.

"Do you taste that? The blood? Do you remember how it felt to tear the flesh apart? Piece…by…piece, ripping, tearing, shredding. You're a monster."

Haruka stood over Justin's body as he twitched a couple of times. She watched as the blood slowly seeped out of his neck that had been torn open. "I'm not a monster."

"Who are you to choose who lives and who dies? Only a monster would have killed that man."

The world shifted again. The scene spun out of focus and another appeared. This time she was laying down, laying on someone.

"Haruka." She could hear Michiru moaned as she kissed and licked Michiru's neck.

Haruka was back in the hotel room. It was the day Michiru discovered her secret. Instead of pulling away from Michiru's neck as to not bite her she found herself sinking her fangs into the tender neck. She began to rip her at her throat as well. Michiru tries to push Haruka off but the blonde is too strong. Haruka found herself stuck in a blood frenzy as she began to rip and tear. Michiru's voice slowly drowns out as she draws one final breath. Haruka sits up and looks down at Michiru. Everything is soaked in a crimson liquid.

"No!" Haruka screams.

"You killed Michiru that night in the hotel room. You just tried to forget it. You hid her body. Don't you remember?"

The hotel room went dark and Haruka now found herself standing in a dark field at night. With spade in hand she dug a deep hole. She looked to her side to see Michiru's cold, dead body lying next to her.

"That never happened." Haruka screamed.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

**_~Meanwhile~_**

Amara finally managed to break the restraints off of her legs. She walked up to the door and peered outside of the small opening. "Michiruuuu..." Her eyes dart back and forth down the hallway. "Don't ignore me. I know you're there- I can smell you. I can't believe Haruka forgave you. Amara would never forgive you. You broke poor little Haruka's heard and never looked back. How do you live with yourself?"

Michiru stood from the side of the door and looked through the small window. Her eyes met the red eyes of the blonde. "You're not my Haruka."

"Haruka was never yours. She never will be again. Haruka is gone forever and Amara is here to stay." Amara let out a howling laugh. "Now you get to live forever-alone. Why do you even bother waiting for her? She's never returning." Amara's eyes continued to glare into Michiru's.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Haruka, do you remember when you stole that weapon from Michiru. Oh yes, you will never forget. You stole from the one person you loved. How pathetic."

Haruka was sitting in her old room at her dad's house. She stares down at the Kris in her hand that she stole debating on taking her life.

"Why didn't you just end it then? You would have saved yourself from all this pain. Michiru would still be alive too. You better get ready, you're in Hell now!" Lucas' voice laughs manically. "We're going to be here forever, together. It's going to be one hell of a ride."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

**_~Meanwhile~_**

Amara sat down on the floor in the huge metal room and began to rock herself. Michiru peered into the room. It hurt her to see Haruka going through this. The blonde began to hum to herself.

"Humm hum hum… moonlight…hum hum hum daylight… never running from a real fight." Amara suddenly stiffened and looked at the opening in the door. Her eyes narrowed as they met Michiru's blue eyes. "Does it make you feel like you're in a zoo? Staring inside this cage, watching the monster." She stood and walked to the door. "It should be you in here." Amara rested her hands on the door as she leaned forward. "You're the monster. At least I was born this way. You were created." Her eyes narrowed a bit more. "What did you do to those people in the hospital? You enthralled someone to hide your secret?" Amara began to lead Michiru's thoughts on. "At least what I did was an accident. You knew what you were doing. You made that man clean up your mess and become your slave."

"Shut up."

"How pathetic. You tried to hide everything like Haruka did. How did it feel when you realized you were a monster? Horrible, I know."

"I'm no monster." Michiru's chest tightened.

"You are a monster. How many people did you attack before you brought here? Five? No, six. That's more than Haruka attacked." Amara smirked and shook her head. "You're more of a monster than she will ever be."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"Do you remember when you cheated on Michiru? You know, that day in the locker room. You couldn't hold your feelings back for Brenda." Haruka's nightmare continued as Lucas spoke to her.

"No, she kissed me."

"Are you sure that's what happened? You and Brenda agreed to forget about it. You forgot. Don't you remember how you pushed her into a shower stall and you two went at it like wild animals? You said she was a better lover than Michiru ever would be."

"Shut up. That's not what happened!"

"Then try to remember."

Haruka stood in the locker room of her school now. Brenda was sitting on a bench talking to her. The brunette girl stood and looked into Haruka's eyes. Before she realized what was going on Haruka locked lips with Brenda and puller her back into an empty shower stall. She pinned Brenda to the wall and grinded her hips onto the brunette.

_"No, that's not what happened."_

Haruka slowly parted from the heated kiss and slowly moved her hand to Brenda's shorts. Brenda did the same to Haruka and both girls tried their hardest to muffle the moans. "You're a better lover than Michiru will ever be."

_"Stop it, I never cheated on Michiru."_

**Xxxxxxxxx**

**_~Meanwhile~_**

Amara paced around the cell for a moment. She approached the door. "Michiru." She called for the aqua haired girl. "Stop hiding from me. I need to tell you something."

Michiru's eyes appeared at the small opening in the door.

"There you are. Did you know we keep humans as prisoners in this mansion? Where do you think that blood comes from that you drink?" Amara laughed loudly and put her hands on her hips. "They're right down there." She pointed down the hallway. "In that room there, the locked one. Ask Alexander to show you what's in it. Oh, did you ever notice the maids we have? Or did you never take a closer look? They are slaves for us. Take a look. They're all under our control."

"Michiru, don't listen to her. She's blowing things out of proportion." Alexander stood behind Michiru as he spoke.

"What's behind that door?" Michiru questioned the man.

"If I showed you now it would make things worse. When Haruka is back have her show you."

"Haruka will never be back." The blonde's voice boomed from the door. She began to beat on the door. "I'm here to stay, bitches!"

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"So how does it feel to no longer be in control of your own body?" Lucas asked Haruka. "Why don't you take a peek and see what Amara's been doing?"

Haruka suddenly felt like a prisoner trapped in her own body. She could see what was going on and hear what was being said but she could not control her own body. Amara had completely taken her over.

"Michiru." She felt her lips move. "Why don't you come in here? I'm horny as hell. I need a good fucking." She felt as her body approached the huge metal door and looked out. "Where are you?" Her eyes darted back and forth.

Everything went dark again and she was in a huge prison cell.

"You see, you will never be yourself again. No Lilin has ever made it out of this hell, at least not the same." The voice echoed in the cell.

Haruka walked up to the bars and held onto them. She tried to see what was beyond the cage but only saw darkness. Far in a distance she saw a small speck of light.

"You see that light? It's fading. The longer you are trapped here the darker it gets. Just so you know it's been about two weeks now." She heard Lucas continue talking.

"I'll make it. Michiru believes in me." Haruka reached a hand through the bars in the direction of the light. "I have to make it for Michiru."

It felt like years as Haruka continued to sit in the cell and watch the light slowly grow darker. She had no idea how to make it out of the cell she was sitting in. Every so often she would catch glimpses of how Amara was acting and how she was treating Michiru and Alexander. Her mind continued to play tricks on her as time went by.

"Wait." She finally realized something. "Lucas, are you there?"

"I'm always here."

"You said no Lilin has ever made it out? At least, not sane."

"Do you know how many Lilin have been drank dry? Do you ever wonder why there aren't older Lilin running around? Most are sucked dry. Do you really think in all those years you would be the first one to make it?"

"You're wrong." She stood and approached the bars reaching at the light again. "I'm not just a Lilin. I'm also human- hunter. That makes me different." The light grew brighter. "No Lilin might have made it, but, there has never been one like me before." The light continued to grow brighter as she realized it.

"Well done." The voice spoke to her.

"I can make it because I'm different." The bars disappeared and she ran for the light. "I'm going to make it. Hold on, Michiru."

Haruka expected to awaken the moment she arrived at the light but something else happened. Once she arrived at the light everything turned white. She looked around where she was standing. A man sitting on a large throne-like chair came into focus. It was Lucas, except, he was normal. His hair was well kept and his clothing matched, even his shoes matched.

"Victor and I knew you would make it." Lucas was leaning on a large scepter.

"Victor?" Haruka questioned.

"There are some things we can never speak. She's always watching us." He motioned a hand into the air.

"Who?"

"Our mother, the Mother of All. You see, Victor and I put this plan together years ago. Over a thousand years ago to be more precise. She kept saying she would return and rule the Lilin. She said she would make it possible to even turn humans into Lilin. Victor didn't want that. By doing that everything would be thrown into chaos. You know firsthand we need to feed on humans. We can't feed on each other."

"The reason you wanted to die was to tell me something? Something you could never speak?"

"She can't hear us here. I can speak safely to you and she would never know. Victor might be able to answer all of your questions but I can answer most of them. She wanted to combine the three clans and a hunter into one being. Kind of, eh, something more powerful than a normal Lilin. Not just that but you need to be of the same bloodline to rule a clan." He grinned. "So, you know that stuff your father would make for you? It helped keep you safe."

"Safe? What about when I stopped taking it?"

Lucas laughed cheerfully. "When you stopped taking it you didn't need it anymore. You saw what it did when you played with it. It made a barrier around the Lilin blood. Do you know why it did that?"

Haruka rubbed her chin. She wondered why it did that but never found the answer.

"Your father works in a lab. She has a few loyal Lilin still running around. Most of the time he was under their control. For years he worked on an experiment. He managed to make a solution that made his body bond with mine and Victor's blood. She may have had him under her control but we were also there snooping around we knew what She was up to."

"So that's how it was possible then? That's how he managed to get my mother pregnant. But why did it take so many years to do that?"

"As the world gets older technology gets newer. She had to wait for the right technology to come along and the right man to do it."

"So I'm just a freaky experiment." Haruka bowed her head down.

"The 'medicine'" he motioned quotations with his fingers. "was what Victor and I helped your father to create once She had released her control on him. It helped to keep her out."

"Out?"

"You were originally intended to be her vessel. She doesn't have a body, well, not anymore. That's why your blood is able to turn humans to Lilin. It was her ultimate plan. The night Victor bit you was a sort of… activation. Your blood needed a jump start and that's when you changed. He did the same to Michiru. When she was in the hospital She realized She had another possible vessel, a mature one. Victor had to quickly act before it happened. That's how he saved Michiru from 'a fate worse than death.'"

"You keep saying 'She'. Who is 'She'?"

"I told you, the Mother of All."

"Does she have a name?"

"She does… it's…" Before the answer escaped Lucas the light dimmed.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka could feel herself lying on the table without the restraints. She could not move and she could not talk. She could only listen.

Michiru was in the room with her. She spoke softly to the blonde lying on the table. "I remember the first time I saw you, Haruka. My mother and I had just moved here from Japan…"

Haruka lied motionless as Michiru recounted the past events to her. She wanted to smile and reach out for the aqua haired goddess but her arms would not move. After a while she felt Michiru trace her fingers across her arm. "You were always so upset with how Joe acted toward you. He never had anything against you…"

Another person entered the room after a while. The footsteps were heavier, it had to be Alexander. He spoke to Michiru. "Michiru, you need to come out of there. You know it's no good to be in there. There's nothing you can do for her now."

She felt as Michiru let go of her hand she had just recently grasped. Both people left the room. The door did not close. Haruka heard them talking outside for a moment before she drifted away. A couple more days passed. Haruka finally opened her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her body was not bound but her arms were covered in blood. She saw Michiru laying across her stomach.

"Michiru." She whispered.

Instantly Michiru stood and looked down at Haruka. "Amara?" She questioned the blonde on the table.

"When does everything start?" Haruka continued to whisper.

"Haruka…"

"Isn't something supposed to happen?"

"Haruka, you killed Lucas two months ago."

"I don't remember anything. I remember you and Alexander strapping me to the table and then I was gasping for air. I thought I died for a moment and then I opened my eyes and found myself here."

"You don't remember anything?" Michiru questioned Haruka.

"Nothing, I don't remember anything between killing Lucas and waking up." Haruka sat up and dangled her feet over the table. "What happened?"

Michiru took one of Haruka's hands and began to explain. It was unfortunate for Haruka as she did not remember her encounter with Lucas while she was trapped in her own mind. Everything he had told her was locked away in a part of her subconscious that she could not remember. Even the nightmares she had were locked away somewhere in her distant memory.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I tried to make it as 'unconfusing' as possible. Let me know if it's too confusing. I tried my best!


	18. Chapter 18

All Sailor Moon characters in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Chapter 18

"I can't believe I said some of those things." Haruka spoke softly once Michiru had told her of what Amara had been doing. "I wish I could remember something. I feel like something important happened but I can't remember any of it."

"Whatever it was I'm sure it will come to you."

"Yeah." Haruka looked down at her sleeves that had been stained from blood. "You could have at least changed my clothes. How is Blake? Is he fine?"

"Yeah, don't worry they took him back home and he doesn't remember anything. Also, Alexander was afraid moving you might do something bad. Amara laid on the table and suddenly everything was quiet. We thought you had entered the final stage of the process. After a couple of days we came to check on you and saw that you had entered a temporary coma. So we waited. He didn't want me coming in here but I wanted to." Michiru got silent for a moment. "There was one thing Amara said that bothered me." She looked away from Haruka as she spoke.

"What was that?"

"She said you guys keep humans as prisoners… is that true?"

Haruka shook her head. Of course they are not prisoners – they agreed to it.

"Why would someone agree to being a prisoner?"

"What?" Haruka perked a brow. "I never said anything."

"Oh. Well, show me what's behind that locked door." Michiru dropped Haruka's hand and stepped back.

"Can I at least take a shower and freshen up first?" Haruka jumped off the table. "I'll tell you and show you anything you want to see. I'm done hiding things from you."

Michiru followed Haruka up the stairs out of the basement. They found Alexander standing in the living room talking to a woman on the couch. From behind Haruka could see long golden blonde hair and a giant red bow in the back.

"Lady Haruka." Alexander's eyes widened when he saw her enter the living room. "How do you feel? It's good to see you back to yourself."

"I'll make it. I just need a shower, a very long one."

"Good. This is Mina. She came here a while ago. The first time I put you in that room she came to visit."

Mina, that name did sound familiar. "Oh, I remember you mentioning her briefly. But before anything else I want to take a shower. You guys could have at least thrown me a bucket while I was in there and let me clean myself." Haruka glanced at Michiru jokingly. "I'll be back in about an hour or so. I don't know how long I will take. Excuse me, Miss Mina." She bowed and left the room.

After an hour in the shower and half a tube of toothpaste later Haruka finally emerged from the bathroom and entered her room. Michiru was sitting on Haruka's bed waiting for her. "I'm glad you're back. For a while I was worried we would be stuck with Amara forever." Michiru watched as Haruka went to her closet.

"I'm just glad Amara is behind me. At least I hope she is. Somehow I feel like she's always going to be a part of me." Haruka pulled out some clothes and changed quickly. "So who is Mina?"

"I don't know much about her. Alexander mentioned she used to work with your mother a bit and she left for a vacation or something. She came back to meet the new head of the clan."

"Head of the clan…" Haruka sighed. "Now the two clans are united, aren't they? How has that been going since I've been out?"

"Once Lucas was gone all the vampires stopped running around and creating problems."

"Lilin, Michi. We're called Lilin." Haruka finished buttoning the last button on her vest and turned to Michiru.

"Lilin." Michiru corrected herself. "Some even came to see what happened but we wouldn't let them see you. One of the men Lucas had brought with him left you a key to Lucas' mansion. It's yours now."

"I'm afraid of what I might find there. Anyways, let's go so I can meet this Mina person." Haruka held her hand out for Michiru to take it as she stepped off the bed.

"She's really nice." Michiru took Haruka's hand and instantly found herself in a strong embrace.

"Thank you. After everything that's happened you stayed." Haruka held onto the smaller figure of Michiru tightly. "And like I said, from today on I won't hide anything else from you." She stroked some of the aqua strands softly.

"Me either." Michiru inhaled deeply smelling the cologne Haruka always wore.

"Let's go." Haruka pulled back and kissed Michiru. It was the first time in while Haruka managed to smile again. She brushed the back of her fingers on Michiru's cheek remembering the good times they shared. She thought of how much she really loved her and before she could speak she heard Michiru's thoughts.

_-I love you too.-_ Michiru smirked and pulled out of the embrace and began to walk away.

"What?" Haruka caught her hand.

Michiru turned around with the same look on her face. "You heard me."

"How did you…?"

Michiru's grin widened a bit. _–The day Lucas came over and we were talking on the couch he showed me.-_

"The whole time, huh?"

"Yeah. That's why I decided to kiss you when we were having that argument outside of your room. I could hear your inner thoughts and I knew how you still felt. I took the chance and this is where we ended up."

"Where are we now?" Haruka pulled Michiru closer to her. "Where are we now?" She asked again.

"The day Alexander brought me here I was afraid of what you would do. But it feels like something keeps pushing us back together. I heard you talking to Alexander about the poem you wrote, the one that I chose during the show. No matter how hard I tried to get away from you we always ended up back together somehow." Michiru took Haruka's hand in hers. "In Japan we believe soul mates are connected with a thread on their small fingers. That's what I believe."

Haruka continued to stare into Michiru's blue eyes. "I like that." She smiled. "After the hell we went through and all the lies and secrets we keep finding ourselves pushed back together." Haruka kissed the soft lips in front of her once more. "I want to meet this Mina person."

The two walked hand in hand back to the living room. Alexander smiled when he saw they had finally forgiven each other. Mina stood from the couch and turned to the two girls walking into the living room.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Lady Haruka." Mina bowed. "I used to help Lady Angeline with a few things a while ago but I decided to take some time for myself. When I heard what had happened to her I came back." Mina was quiet for a moment but Haruka heard her thoughts. _–So glad the bitch is dead.-_ "So I came to offer my assistance to you. Alexander told me that you had inherited a new mansion and he suggested I could get that place in order." As Mina spoke her fangs were shown. She was no doubt a Lilin from Angeline's clan.

"Alexander?" Haruka questioned the man.

"I trust her, I've known her for years. She would be the best person to send. We need to check the mansion out sometime as well. There's no telling what information you could find there that could be of use."

"Alright. I guess now I need to work on settling things with the hunters now." Haruka turned to Michiru. "Any ideas?"

"Well, Joe doesn't know I'm no longer human. I do want to get my weapon back. I don't like the idea of them having it and thinking we are the enemy." Michiru spoke slowly as she tried to think of a way to get it back.

"Can't you just tell him you're back in the game and want it back? It's yours isn't it?"

"Let's go together. I want him to know you aren't the enemy."

"He hates me. I also promised him he would never see me again when I left the hospital."

"I'll be there. He won't do anything to you as long as I'm there." Michiru gave Haruka's hand a gentle squeeze. "I won't let anything happen to you. But before we leave, will you show me what's in that room?"

"Alright but don't jump to conclusions at first. There's an explanation for it. Alexander, could you unlock the room for us?"

He nodded and led them into the basement. "Keep an open mind Miss Michiru." He reassured her as he pushed the door open and turned the light on.

Michiru gasped at the sight.

"It shocked me when I saw it first. Let us show you what it is though." Haruka spoke softly and led Michiru to a bed. It was the bed with the man she had made a deal with months ago. "It may seem bad at first but we help these people and they help us. I don't quite like the idea but we need to feed and they need other things." Haruka opened the file cabinet next to the young man's bed. "His name is Christopher Lane. He came to us seeking help. His fiancée was diagnosed with a terminal illness and they gave her only a year to live. In exchange for a year of him being here we gave him the money so she could get the treatments. When his contract is up he will get married to her and live with her for a couple of years longer than he would have been able to do."

"I see." Michiru whispered and went to another bed and opened the file cabinet. "So this woman is here for money to help with her son's heart surgery." Michiru tucked the file away and stood silently. "I don't like it either but I have to admit it is a genius idea. It never broke the treaty, they are here on their own free will. What about the maids?"

"They were homeless and we gave them a home in return for their servitude." Haruka took Michiru's hand. "It's the only way we can get what we need."

Michiru sighed. "Yeah. I don't like being in here. Can we go to Joe's house now?"

"Let's go." Haruka led her out of the room.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The ride to Joe's house was silent. Haruka was nervous about what was about to happen. She felt Michiru place a hand on hers in reassurance. They pulled into Joe's creepy driveway and parked.

"Let me knock. If he sees me first it'll be better." Michiru opened the car door and proceeded to Joe's house. Haruka stood a few feet behind her as she knocked.

The door creaked open and Joe smiled. "Michiru." He hugged her. "How are you?" His tone suddenly changed when he saw Haruka behind her. "What is she doing here?" He growled.

"Joe, I want you to keep an open mind. It's been a tough journey for us."

"Us? Don't tell me you're back together already. After what she did, after what she was hiding."

"I don't think it's something you will ever understand, Joe." Michiru took a step back next to Haruka and grasped her hand. "After the hell we went through we finally managed to pull through. I love her despite everything."

"Why are you at my house?"

"I've decided I'm back in. I want my weapon back."

Joe mumbled a bit. "I can't believe I'm giving it back to you."

"You know it's mine. It's been in my family for generations. I want you to know we aren't the enemy."

"We? Just because you're dating a vampire doesn't mean you're the enemy too."

"No, Joe. It's much more than that. I'd like my weapon back before I tell you more."

Joe glared at Haruka for a moment. _–What have you done to her?-_ Haruka ignored his thoughts. "Come in." He pushed his door open. Inside he gave Michiru the Kris back and sat at his kitchen table. "So what else do you want to tell me?"

"Haruka has managed to become the leader of both of the clans. They united under her. You know she's not a bad person and I know she's not a bad person either." Michiru explained to Joe everything Haruka had gone through. How she hid from both sides while being stuck in the middle and about her mother. "The whole time she did her best to be loyal to me. In the end I broke my own heart by not giving her the chance to explain why she had hidden it from me. I would have run away either way."

Joe remained quiet as he continued to glare at Haruka. He finally nodded his head. _–What a position to be stuck in.-_

"She also accidently broke the treaty, she didn't know what she was. We need you to relay that message to the hunters."

"Michiru." Haruka stepped in for a moment. "There's one other thing you guys need to know about me."

Both Joe and Michiru raised their eyebrows at the comment.

"My father is a hunter." They gasped. "He was orphaned as a child and never knew his parents. He just doesn't know he is."

"I'll be damned." Joe gasped. "A hunter who is also a vampire and in charge of the clans. That couldn't have turned out any better."

"How do we work on coming to an agreement with the hunters again?" Michiru asked Joe.

"I'll arrange a meeting with the others. I'll need Haruka to be there are well. After that we can spread the word to others. I'm sure you can do the same easily with your vampires."

"Lilin." Haruka corrected Joe. "We're called Lilin."

"You sure agreed to this fast, Joe." Michiru rubbed her chin.

"You know I don't like to fight vampires. I'd prefer to get back to other creatures and let the vamps carry on as they were before everything blew up."

Haruka wanted to correct him again but did not. "Other creatures?"

"When the treaty was broken our focus became the vampires. They are the strongest of creatures. It scared a lot of us to know they were on the prowl again. Seeing as it was a mistake I think it can be fixed before anything else happens." Joe took another look at Haruka. "So, is that how you hid your fangs from us? Being half human you can do that?"

Haruka nodded.

"Before we go there's one more thing." Michiru looked straight into Haruka's eyes. _–I need to tell him about me.-_ It was more of a question than a statement.

Haruka's reply was a smile and a nod. _'If you want to I have nothing against it.'_ This was something Haruka could get used to- the need to share thoughts with Michiru when someone else was present.

"Joe, you remember when I was in the hospital?"

"I remember. I was worried sick about you."

"Something else happened when I was in there. Something I was ashamed about at first."

"Go on." He listened closely.

Michiru took a deep breath. "When I was stabbed by the same blade she was stabbed with it did something to me."

"Uh huh…" Joe began to scratch his beard.

"We're not quite sure what it was or how it happened." Michiru paused and looked back at Haruka for reassurance. The blonde nodded with a smile. "She was stabbed first and then the same knife was used on me. I know since the beginning of time it was never possible. But…" Michiru grew silent for a moment. "Somehow when her blood came in contact with me…" She trailed off for a moment. Would Joe still look at her the same way? What was going to happen when she told him? "I uhm."

"Michiru." Haruka put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to."

"No it's fine. He needs to know." Michiru turned back to Joe. "Somehow her blood mixed with mine and I changed."

"Changed?" He questioned.

"Yes, changed." Michiru's nerves were high and she began to shake a bit.

"Michi." Haruka walked up to her and embraced her to calm her down.

"I became what she is." Michiru gasped loudly.

"Come again?" Joe's eyes grew wide.

"I'm not human anymore." Michiru opened her mouth and let her fangs reveal themselves.

"What did you do to her?" Joe looked at Haruka.

"I didn't know that would happen. None of us did." Haruka butted in.

"Did I just give that weapon back to a vampire?"

"Joe." Haruka glared at him. "She's still the same person. It's not like her soul was ripped out. It's not like she became possessed. She's still Michiru. This isn't a sci-fi show. She's still the same person."

"I can't believe this." Joe ran his hands through his graying hair. "Keep your blood to yourself then. I don't want more people getting turned."

"You act like it's a bad thing. I know some very good people who are Lilin." Haruka said as she hugged Michiru tighter. "We are simply beings trying to exist. We shouldn't be judged by what our ancestors did."

"I'll arrange the meeting with the hunters. Keep your phone ready, Michiru. I think I need time alone now." He pointed at his door. No words were needed for the two girls to know they had to leave.

Once outside Michiru turned to Haruka. "It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be."

"Yeah. I was a bit nervous."

Michiru looked down at the blade Joe had given back to her. "I think we should find a safe place for this thing before it gets into the wrong hands."

"Is it the real one?" Haruka approached the weapon Michiru held and looked down at it.

"It looks like it. There's one way to tell. My mother and I can tell easily by one thing." Michiru twisted the hilt and unlocked something. The hilt separated from the blade. "You can easily detach the hilt and blade if you know what you are doing. No matter how many replicas are made they will never mimic this." She twisted it back together.

"I wonder why you can pull it apart." Haruka questioned out loud.

"There's no telling. This weapon is so old I'm sure it holds many secrets even I don't know. Actually, there's something I should tell you but I want to tell you when we are alone."

"Tell me in the car." Haruka walked over to her car and opened the door for Michiru. Inside the car Michiru turned to Haruka when she sat down as well.

"When I was in the hospital I had a lot of weird dreams. One really bothered me though. I question if it was a dream or if it was something else. It felt so real. I was standing in a strange tomb, I mean, I guess it was a tomb. There were four other people in it as well. Six in total. I can only assume you were the one standing next to me. There were two other daggers. The other two couples each had one as well."

"More daggers? What could that mean?"

"I don't know. I think it was just a dream. It may have felt real but it was probably just a dream."

Haruka tapped her chin for a moment. "What I've learned in this life is nothing seems to be a coincidence."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The two arrived back at the mansion. Mina was still hanging around and Alexander was busy cleaning up the room in the basement. Haruka led Michiru to her room where they found a nice place to hide the dagger. There was a small cabinet fitted into the wall of Haruka's closet.

"It should be safe there. We are the only ones that know where it is." Haruka said as she locked the small door. "Where do we go now?" She turned to Michiru.

"Alexander mentioned Lucas' mansion. Maybe we should check it out with Mina."

"I don't really have great memories in Atlanta."

"We can make better ones." Michiru reassured the blonde. "Let's go see what we can do there."

"Alright."

Mina was still waiting in the living room when they returned. Alexander had also finished cleaning the cell downstairs. "Lady Haruka, Mina will be leaving soon to go to the other mansion. I wonder if I should make a flight reservation for you as well?"

"Make two. Michi is coming with me."

"I will. When would you like to leave?"

"As soon as possible. Joe is organizing a meeting with the hunters so I need to be back fairly quickly."

Alexander bowed and left the room to handle the reservations. Haruka and Michiru both turned their gaze onto the other blonde girl in the room. "So you used to work with my mother?" Haruka questioned her.

"I did. Well, I didn't quite like her. No offense."

Haruka chuckled. "Don't worry, the feeling is mutual." She led Michiru to the couch and sat down. Michiru leaned into Haruka's shoulder as she listened to the conversation.

"I heard that she was tried to kill you but somehow you managed to kill her first." Mina continued.

"It's not something I'm proud of. I didn't want to die. When I realized what her plan was I was upset but I wouldn't let her win. So, what exactly did you help her with?"

"Small things. Alexander handled the important things while I did other things. I eventually grew tired of her and had to leave. I spent some time in New York and enjoyed a bit of freedom."

"I see." Haruka wrapped an arm around Michiru and brought her closer. "Any idea what Lucas might have of importance in his mansion?"

"No idea. Just as your mother kept important things here I'm sure he did as well."

Alexander interrupted the conversation as he reappeared. "Your flight leaves first thing in the morning." He handed Haruka the plane flight information for her to read over it.

Haruka let out a long drawn out sigh. She never intended to return to Atlanta. Michiru kissed Haruka on the cheek and told her everything will be fine.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

During the plane flight Haruka and Michiru would look at Mina across the aisle. Mina had headphones on and was extremely perky when listening to her music. Haruka was still nervous about returning to Atlanta but decided it would be a great idea to make happier memories here. She turned to look out the window as the plane began its descent.

They soon found themselves standing at the entrance to the mansion. It was nothing in comparison to the other mansion. Haruka removed her keys from her pocket and fumbled through them for a moment. She took the new addition to the ring and unlocked the door in front of them. The décor was definitely different from her other mansion. Where hers was mostly crimson and golden colors this one was a dark royal purple with golden trims. In the foyer was a huge chandelier. Two sets of stairs outlined the left and right side of the foyer. They led up to a hallway that led to the living room. The place was quiet as they entered it.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

A teenage girl watched across the street as the two blondes and aqua haired girl entered a large mansion. Her eyes were focused directly on the aquanette. No matter how intense the heat was outside this girl wore a long sleeve turtle neck with gloves and pants. She covered all of her body except for her face. Her hair is dark as a raven and flowed down the entirety of her back. She dug into a bag she had on her side. The straps of the bag crossed over her chest and back. A few people walked by her mumbling how crazy she was for wearing those clothing in Georgia heat.

She pulled out a book and flipped through a few pages reading some notes she had written. _'It's her.'_ She thought to herself and placed the book back into her bag. The bag on the outside seemed to be a small yet simple bag but on the inside it could hold hundreds of pounds. She smirked and walked away to find a place to sit and wait for the women to leave the mansion.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka walked around the mansion for a few minutes until she found a room with a desk in it. On the desk were some notes. She picked up the notes and looked at them. Michiru approached behind her and looked around her arm to see as well.

"I don't understand this language." Haruka finally said and handed the notes to Michiru.

"I don't know if I can make it out either but I'll take a look." Michiru looked over the notes. "It looks more like scribbles of a mad man."

"What if Lucas is trying to tell us something?" Haruka looked at the papers again.

"We can just take them back with us. Maybe Alexander knows what to do."

Mina poked her head into the room while the two discussed the notes. "What's that you have?" She walked to the couple to see what they were looking at. "Oh, I know what this is." She snatched the notes and began to read in a foreign language. "Let's see… well it says something about a weapon. Hm. Three weapons. Doesn't say what they do. Something about killing Lilin with the weapons. Tell you what, leave me here for a while and I'll look through everything."

"Alright." Haruka nodded and left the room. They looked around the mansion some more and eventually found the basement. "I wonder if he did the same thing as my mother." Haruka said as they approached a door in the basement. Unlike her other mansion this one had a single room in the basement. She unlocked the door with the same key she used to open the front door. This room also smelled of blood.

"I'm nervous." Michiru whispered as they found the light.

Haruka flipped the switch. "Not what I expected." They walked into the room and found a machine in the middle and a few refrigerators along the wall. The machine had what looked like blood flowing through it. "I guess it keeps it from settling?" Haruka continued to observe. "Dare I ask where he got this blood?"

"Who knows…" Michiru opened a refrigerator and looked in. "There's some blood packets here, empty ones. Maybe he got blood from the hospital and brought it here."

Haruka followed Michiru and looked as well. "That's probably it. Almost makes me feel a bit barbaric with what we do."

"It seems wrong, yes. But those people get what they need to help their family." Michiru closed the refrigerator.

"Yeah. Let's go back upstairs." Haruka led Michiru back upstairs. Mina had spread some papers all over the floor and was putting them together like a puzzle. "Michi. There's something I want to do real quick. Why don't you wait with Mina? Maybe you two can put something together."

"Oh, where are you going?" Michiru looked right into the green eyes in front of her.

"Ah ah. It's a secret. Don't try to prod either." Haruka waved her finger at Michiru as to not read her thoughts. Haruka turned and quickly left the mansion.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

The dark haired girl was still sitting on a bench outside of the mansion as Haruka exited. She watched the blonde curiously as she caught a taxi and rode off. The girl turned her focus back on the mansion.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Mina continued rearranging the papers on the floor. They all had different language written on them. After a while she sat on the floor frustrated. "I'm not really sure what's being said here." She pointed a finger at one page. "Here he is talking about a weapon that can kill Lilin. Then over here-" She pointed at another paper. "He's talking about blueberry muffins…"

"Well he was a little crazy." Michiru kneeled down and looked at some papers. "How many languages do you know?"

"I've been around a while so I've had time to learn them." Mina began to stack the papers according to how she had arranged them. "It may take me some time to figure out if there's anything important here."

"You said it mentioned three weapons?" It perked Michiru's curiosity. In a dream she had there were three weapons. Could the dream have been a foretelling event?

"Yeah, three of them. It just doesn't go too much into detail. I don't even know what the point of the weapons are other than they kill Lilin." Mina huffed a bit from frustration. "Did you guys find anything else interesting in the mansion?"

"No. Although it's strange. Back in the other mansion they have maids. But here there's nothing else living in it. Maybe Lucas was just a loner."

Mina rearranged the papers once more and both girls tried to figure out what they meant. Michiru could read a couple of the languages, although not as good as English and Japanese. After a while Michiru decided to take a step outside for a breath of fresh air. She missed Haruka even though it had only been about an hour since she left. It felt much longer since she had just got Haruka back.

"Excuse me." A young woman approached her. "Are you Michelle Kaio?"

Michiru looked at the young woman in front of her. "I am."

"I'm a big fan. I saw you on TV."

Michiru giggled a bit. She had forgotten about the talent show but she still seems to meet people that watched her perform. "That was a good while ago." She observed the girl closer. "Aren't you hot wearing all those clothes?" The girl looked as though she was expecting a winter storm to pass through. She had on a long sleeve shirt with gloves and long pants.

"I've got used to it. I just happened to be walking by and saw you. I wanted to meet you as I don't think I'd ever get the chance again." The raven hair girl smiled. Their conversation was interrupted when a taxi pulled up and Haruka exited the cab.

She approached the two girls talking. "Making new friends already?" Haruka turned to dark haired girl. She was also shocked to see the girl adorn in heavy winter-like clothing.

"Well, I should get going. Nice to finally meet you, Michelle." The girl turned and walked away.

"So where did you go, Haruka?"

"Hey, let it be a surprise. Like I said, don't prod for information." Haruka winked at Michiru and waved her finger at her again. "Did you two figure out anything regarding the notes?"

"No. She's inside trying to figure it out now."

"Let's go in." Haruka took Michiru's hand and led her back into the mansion.

Mina was sorting the papers out still when they returned. "Oh, you're back. I still haven't figured anything out yet."

Haruka knelt down and picked up a paper to look at it. "Do you even think it's something important or not?"

"Well some of them are old recipes and others talk about weapons. I honestly don't know what he's going on about. The hard part is sorting which ones belong together as they are written in several languages." Mina continued to shuffle the papers.

"Well, how about you take care of this place and give us a call." Haruka looked at her watch. "Alexander booked a flight back in the morning. We're going to go stay in a hotel. This place is too creepy for me."

"Okay! I'll get this place up and running in no time."

"I left the basement door open. You will want to check it out." Haruka and Michiru both turned to leave. Michiru clung onto Haruka's arm as she used to do when they were in college.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka stretched out on the bed in the hotel room the instant they arrived. She watched as Michiru paced around the room. Even though she knew she could hear Michiru's thoughts she respected her privacy. "What's wrong?"

Michiru stopped for a moment and turned her gaze onto Haruka. "That girl outside the mansion, I think I've seen her somewhere before. I just can't place where."

Haruka sat up from the bed. "Maybe you saw someone that looked like her."

"Maybe." Michiru approached the bed and sat next to Haruka. "You don't remember anything from when you were out do you?"

"I don't. I'm sorry."

"When you were lying on the table I talked to you for a while. Do you remember that?"

Haruka shook her head. "I don't."

"When I first met you, I got the feeling you were going to be a very important part of my life. When that girl approached me I get feeling my path will cross with her again. I'm just not sure how or why."

"Michi, don't think too hard on it. I'm sure she was just a crazed fan."

"Maybe." Michiru stood and walked to her small bag on the floor and took out something to sleep in and a few things for the bathroom. "I still feel like it's possible there's a greater picture we're missing. I feel like we keep getting clues but we over look them."

"I think so too. We'll let Mina do her thing. Until then there's not much we can do. I'll have that meeting with the hunters and we'll go from there."

"Sounds like the best thing we can do for now. I'm going to get ready for bed." Michiru proceeded to the bathroom.

Haruka bent down to get her tooth brush out of her bag as well. She glanced back at the bathroom door that was still slightly open and took a small box out of her pocket to place in her own bag. Michiru was in the shower when she entered to brush her teeth. When she returned to the bed she removed her shirt and pants and laid down. Michiru emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas and soon joined her in the bed.

"Haruka." Michiru whispered. "When did you start sleeping half naked?"

"A lot has changed since I was at your house, Michi."

"It sure has." For a moment Michiru felt guilty again for what had happened almost four months ago.

"Michi, don't feel guilty. I forgive you. If I was in your shoes I would have done the same." Haruka pulled Michiru closer so that their faces were inches away.

"I know. That doesn't mean I won't forgive myself though. What we had and what we have has always been perfect." Michiru began to trace her fingers along Haruka's arms. She felt every muscle the blonde had as she did so. "I was just ignorant. Now I see things through your eyes."

"Shh." Haruka hushed Michiru. "Let's forget it happened." Her voice was getting sleepy.

"I can forget." Michiru continued to run her fingers over Haruka's half naked body. "You know, I've always loved everything about you."

Haruka mumbled something indecipherable as she was slowly drifting into sleep.

"Something good came out of it though. Now I can be with you forever, right?" Michiru nudged Haruka a bit to wake her up.

"Yeah." Haruka smiled and kissed her. "Forever."

"Ruka." She nudged the blonde again.

"Michi?"

"I love you."

Haruka mumbled back. "I love you too." She pulled Michiru a little bit closer and soon fell asleep with their lips barely brushing against each other.

Michiru continued to run her hand over Haruka's body. It was the body she had gotten so comfortable with. With Haruka everything always felt so right. She kissed Haruka's lips and finally fell asleep.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

When Haruka and Michiru arrived back at the mansion Joe had still not called. They waited for a few days in hopes the meeting would turn up soon. Mina on the other hand continued to try to understand what Lucas had scribbled down on the notes. The mansion Mina was at received constant visitors from the other side of the clan now. Mina generally ushered them away as they were disturbing her work. If they wanted to meet Haruka they had to go to her other mansion. One visitor caught Mina off guard though. It was the same raven haired girl that had bumped into Michiru. Mina was not expecting a human to approach the mansion with a few questions.

The call finally came and Joe had organized the meeting. Haruka and Michiru both went to attend it. The two were as inseparable as they used to be. Their relationship might have been rocky for a while, but when Michiru stayed by Haruka's side during the whole Lucas ordeal it helped to reseal the bond.

The meeting was held in an old warehouse. Haruka and Michiru had no fears that the hunters would do anything to harm them. Joe sat next to the couple as everything took place. There were a few new hunters in the room. Haruka had designated them as some sort of leaders for the hunters.

"So, you're saying that the treaty was accidently broken?" A man spoke. He was a bit older than Joe.

"Yes. It was a mistake." Haruka looked at Michiru to silently ask her a question. It was like having an open encyclopedia next to her, almost like she was cheating on a test. Any time she was unsure of what to say or ask Michiru would help guide her as to what to say.

_'Michiru, should I tell him I'm half?'_ Haruka asked in her thoughts.

_-I think it would be best. He needs to know you are half hunter. I believe it would help in the end to know the leader of all the Lilin is also a hunter.-_

Haruka smiled as Michiru spoke in her thoughts to her. "It was actually my fault it happened." The hunters began to whisper to each other. "As you can see I have no fangs- none that you can see. Do you wonder how that is possible?"

The hunters continued whispering to each other and the man spoke again. "How is that? In all these years vampires can't hide their fangs. Are you saying you hide yours?"

"I can only hide mine because I am only half."

The hunters all gasped and another spoke up, a woman. "You mean to say after all these years the vampires have somehow managed to figure out how to breed with humans?"

"I don't know how it's possible, but I am living proof. I also managed to unite all of vampires together into one clan now." It was true, Haruka's memory of how she was 'created' was sealed away.

"You mean to say, after all these years you also managed to unite both clans?" The man seemed shocked. "We've been trying to do that forever."

"There is one more thing." Haruka interrupted. "My father was a hunter. I'm not just half human but I'm half hunter."

The whispers grew louder as Haruka spoke of herself. "Half hunter…" The man mumbled and turned to Michiru. "Michiru, we've known your family for a very long time. What's your say?"

The entire meeting Haruka and Michiru had not shown any signs they were a couple or even romantically involved. "In the short time I've known Haruka a lot has happened." Michiru put her hand on Haruka's lap under the table. "A lot. I can't even begin to describe what we've gone through since we've known each other. After I discovered her secret – that she was a vampire, I ran away from her. I never gave her a chance to explain. When my path finally crossed with hers again I realized she was still the same person." Michiru bowed her head and closed her eyes. "I think it's wrong to judge them on what their ancestors did. We all see history repeat itself with new issues because people won't let go of their hatred. They continue to judge others based on things they haven't done but what their ancestors have done." Michiru stopped for a moment and Haruka spoke.

"When I attacked those guys in the college I had no idea what I was. I had been raised by my father. I was taken from my mother a few days after I was born and given to him. It wasn't until I was bitten by another vampire that it somehow jump started my vampire side." Haruka gasped at the end of her sentence. It made sense. She did not start changing until Victor had bit her –that's what was missing from the experiment that her and Alexander had done. The missing ingredient had to be the small bit of toxin from Lilin saliva. Michiru nudged Haruka back into reality.

"Sorry. It wasn't until that happened that my body changed. I was scared. I had no idea what was happening to me. I didn't even know vampires existed. Then my mother found me and settled things down in the college." Haruka finished and put her hand over Michiru's hand that was still resting on her lap.

"The vampires have stopped the chaos in the last couple of months. We've noticed that. It must have been your doing." The man continued. "I guess that means we can back off. We do have other things we can be dealing with." He stood from the table all the while keeping his gaze on Haruka. "I've never been able to put faith in a vampire before, so, I will put my faith in the hunter in you instead." He held his hand for Haruka to shake. "Don't let me down." He said as they shook on it.

"I can't believe you did it." Joe turned to Haruka as everyone began to leave.

"Me either. I wonder if we can put our differences aside now." Haruka and Michiru began to walk out of the warehouse.

"Haruka." Joe caught up to them before they got into the Ferrari. "I ain't good with things like this but well…" He stood silently. "Good job. Take care of Michiru. I know how much she means to you." He pat her on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"I'll take good care of her." Haruka called to Joe. The instant both girls were in the car Haruka turned to Michiru. "I couldn't have done any of this without you. Thanks."

"I'd do anything for you."

"I was thinking, would you like to go somewhere to eat?" Haruka smiled. "A victory dinner- we united the vampires and managed to get the hunters to trust us."

"I haven't been out to eat in so long." Michiru stole a kiss from Haruka with a devious grin. "Let's go."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka put on a suit that was very similar to the white tuxedo she wore on their first date many months ago. Michiru wore a long, beautiful gown that matched her hair color. As they exited the mansion Alexander could not be happier to see the two enjoying each others' company. Haruka pulled up to The Ruby Lobster, the same place she had taken Michiru long ago. She had something else on her mind besides dinner. The two had agreed to not pry into one another's thoughts unless need be.

This time Michiru took no time in finding what she wanted to eat. Haruka sat silently as she watched the goddess in front of her. The waiter had mistaken Haruka for a man again but they both ignored him. The only thing that mattered at this moment was them. After dinner Haruka excused herself to the bathroom for a moment. A few women gave her some awkward glances as they thought a man had entered. One even told her she was in the wrong bathroom but she ignored them. Once she was finally alone she took a deep breath and walked back out with her hands deep in her pockets.

"Michiru." She said as she approached her.

"Haruka?" Michiru turned to see the blonde standing next to her. Time seemed to stop as the scene unfolded.

"Michiru." Haruka repeated and took her hand.

"What's wrong?"

Haruka smiled. "Nothing. At least, I don't think anything is wrong. Is something wrong?"

Michiru smiled as well. "No, everything is perfect."

"Good. That's what I needed to hear." Haruka huffed loudly and felt her heart skip a few beats. _'It's now or never.'_ She went down on one knee and looked at Michiru.

"Haruka…" Michiru questioned what Haruka was doing.

"After everything that has happened. After everything we've been through. I realize there's no one else I ever want to be with." The restaurant had grown silent as a few people observed the blonde on one knee.

"Haruka… people are staring." Michiru glanced around.

"I don't care. The only person that matters to me is you. Will you marry me?"

Michiru felt a few tears run down her face as Haruka produced a beautiful ring.

"I can't imagine my life with anyone else." Haruka continued.

Michiru took a moment to realize what was happening. "Haruka, there's no one else I want to be with either. Yes."

Haruka smiled and placed the ring on Michiru's finger. The onlookers applauded; little did they know it was two women. They all assumed Haruka was a man but Haruka did not care what they thought. She had the woman of her dreams and she was going to marry her.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

This chapter took me a bit longer to write. I was unsure of where to go with it and debated for the last couple of days. I kinda of backed myself into a corner for a moment but decided I was coming to this conclusion. So without further a due... the next chapter might be the last for this story. DON'T WORRY. There's gonna be a sequel... I've just kind of hit the end of Michiru and Haruka's story here. They will definitely show up the next story constantly, so don't worry. This was an idea I tossed around with my roommate - writing a three story arc. So I'll let this chapter run for about a week or so. I want you guys to ask questions I might have missed that I can answer in the next chapter. I'll get them answered unless they are key to the main story here that won't be answered until later. You will find a few things out the next chapter that you've been asking. I'll also include a small preview to the next story at the end of the next chapter so you can see who it's about. Although you can probably guess. :D So, I just hope this idea doesn't bite me in the end. I'll probably do a full revise of this story before I begin the next.


	19. Chapter 19

All Sailor Moon characters in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Here's the final chapter to this story. I'm so excited to have finished a story. Now I can finally go back and revise everything as this was just my rough draft. I'm glad you guys enjoyed the story and hope others will enjoy it. :) Thanks for all the positive influences to help me finish it. My roommate was a huge help in some great ideas. She writes here as well she's currently writing a vampire Ranma story. Her name is Helen Star and is listed in my favorite authors if you wanted to check out her story. I haven't read it yet and she's giving me hell about it! haha

Chapter 19

Sunlight poured through the window in the early morning. Haruka slowly opened her eyes blinking a few times. To her left was the warm body of her lover, her fiancée. Michiru still lay asleep as Haruka slowly placed light kisses on her bare stomach. The previous night still played fresh in Haruka's mind while she gently traced her fingers on Michiru's hip. Haruka remembered the passion, the love, and the pure bliss. She moved her lips up to Michiru's neck and placed a few gentle kisses on it.

Michiru continued to lie silently, whether she was pretending to be asleep or not Haruka was unsure but continued to display her affection. Haruka's hand soon found the hand she had placed the ring on the night before. The diamond glistened in the early light from outside as she observed it. She felt as though her life was finally beginning to settle down.

The Lilin were back to their normal lives and the hunters had called off the war. If not for Michiru being at the meeting she may have never settled the treaty once again. Haruka wondered what else may come their way. She still had questions for the mysterious Victor, and when he would appear again she was unsure. A part of her mind still wondered what happened after she had killed Lucas; it felt as though she missed something important.

Haruka brought the petite hand to her lips and kissed it. A few months ago she would have never pictured her life being where it was now. She left behind college and her spot on the track team. She wondered if she would have had the courage to become friends with the woman next to her if Blake had not of suggested it. Although she was certain their paths would have crossed eventually. Her thoughts were interrupted slightly as Michiru rolled over and buried her face into Haruka's naked chest. Michiru continued to sleep peacefully in the embrace of the blonde.

A smile crept onto Haruka's lips when she remembered the first kiss they shared. Every kiss always felt like the first time. She held onto Michiru tightly as her thoughts continued. Their relationship took off quickly and within a month they were already living together. As much as Haruka hated Amara she felt that without Amara's foolishness she would not have found herself back with Michiru, at least not at this moment. Without the foolishness of Amara Michiru would have never been able to truly understand what Haruka had gone through as she hid her identity.

"Haruka." She could feel Michiru's warm breath gently caress her skin as she spoke.

"Michiru." Haruka replied softly. She felt a few kisses touch her bare skin for a moment.

"I don't feel like getting out of bed today." Michiru spoke again and continued to place more kisses on her blonde lover.

"Me either, but we have something to start planning. Don't we?" Haruka ran her fingers through the aqua colored hair.

Michiru giggled for a moment. "We do."

"Let's get started then." Haruka traced her fingers through the hair a few more times and kissed her forehead. "How about a nice shower?"

"As long as I get to take one with you." Michiru pulled away from Haruka's chest and looked into her green eyes.

"Sounds good to me."

Michiru pulled out of the embrace and sat up. Haruka could not resist the urge to trace her fingers down Michiru's back slowly. She loved Michiru with every ounce of her being. She would do anything for her. The unexpected light touch on her back made Michiru shiver a bit. Michiru turned to see a smile on Haruka's lips.

"What?" Haruka muttered through her smile.

"Nothing." Michiru returned the smile and turned to straddle Haruka for a moment.

"Last night wasn't enough for you?" The blonde stretched her arms above her head leaving her stomach completely exposed.

"Last night was perfect." Michiru ran her fingers down Haruka's well-toned and muscular stomach. "Everything seems perfect." She leaned down and kissed Haruka's stomach before she left the bed.

Haruka whistled at Michiru as she walked to the bathroom in the nude. The moment she heard Michiru turn the knobs to the shower she perked up quickly. "Hey, wait for me!" She quickly jumped out of the bed and ran into the bathroom.

Michiru had already stepped into the shower when Haruka entered the bathroom. "Are you just going to stand out there?" Michiru poked her head out for a moment.

Haruka joined Michiru and shut the sliding glass door behind her. She watched as Michiru slowly wet her hair and could not resist the urge to attack her neck with kisses.

"Ruka, the point of a shower is to get out cleaner not dirtier."

"Sorry, can't help myself." Haruka said as she licked some of the water off of Michiru's neck. She felt every curve of Michiru's body under her fingers while she moved her hands between her legs.

"Haruka." Michiru moaned and held onto Haruka's shoulder for support.

Haruka began to suck on Michiru's neck and let her hands do the talking for her. In no time Michiru began to pant for breath as she reached the peak of the moment.

"Now you can get clean." Haruka smirked.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"What sort of wedding have you always pictured?" Haruka asked as they both got dressed in the room.

"Nothing too big, just my close family and friends. So I guess that would be Joe. I don't care where it's at. Maybe in the garden in the back of the mansion."

"I want to invite Blake but I haven't spoken to him in so long. I didn't want him to get involved in my life after the situation with Lucas." Haruka said while patting her pants flat a couple times.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about anymore. At least, not for the moment being. Why don't you invite your dad?"

Haruka sighed. "I forgot to tell you about him."

Michiru perked a brow questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"The last time I saw him he was enthralled. I don't know by who and I don't know why. Ever since that night I was afraid to return."

"Maybe we should go visit him. See if he's back to normal yet. It wears off after a while and that was a few months ago, right?"

"Yeah. But, I don't know…"

"You aren't still mad at him, are you? After everything?"

Haruka bowed her head and looked at the floor for a moment. "I don't know. It does still bother me, yes."

"I think you need to forgive him." Michiru approached the blonde and placed a hand on her shoulder. "After everything we went through we forgave each other. He did it to protect you. Didn't he?"

"Well, I never would have suspected my mother to be a 'vampire'. That's for sure." Haruka moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "I didn't want to believe it when I first met her. I couldn't deny she was my mother though. We could have been twins."

Michiru sat down next to Haruka. "Yeah…"

"You don't have to keep apologizing, Michi."

"I thought we agreed to stay out of each others' minds?" Michiru playfully slapped Haruka on the arm.

"I didn't have to listen to your thoughts to know that was what you were thinking."

"You know me so well." Michiru leaned into Haruka's shoulder for a moment. "So I guess it's just going to be Joe, Blake, Alexander, and your dad?"

"Yeah. Let's go visit my dad."

"If he's home." Michiru joked and kissed Haruka's cheek.

"He'll be home eventually." Haruka took Michiru's hand with the ring and observed it for a moment. She felt the butterflies in her stomach as she thought of how it would feel to be married to the person she loves more than anything. "Alright, let's go."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

Haruka pulled into the driveway at her father's house. His car was gone as usual. She turned to Michiru for a moment and shook her head. "I knew he wouldn't be home."

"Maybe we should just leave him an invitation." Michiru took a pad of paper with a pen out of her purse and began to scrawl a note.

"Do you keep everything in there?" Haruka leaned over to look inside.

"Hey! It's rude to go through a lady's purse." Michiru snapped it closed.

"I wasn't going through it, just looking." Haruka joked back. She watched as Michiru scribbled a note on the paper.

"We don't even have a date set yet. Maybe I should just leave our phone numbers. Or did you give him your new number?"

"I never did actually." Haruka read off her new number as Michiru finished the note.

"Do you think we should go inside?"

"I don't really think it's necessary. I'll just slip it into the side of the door." They both read the note over before Haruka slipped out of the car and left it.

Little did they know Haruka's father had not been home for a couple of days. The last time Haruka had visited his house it was covered in dust and now it was covered in dust yet again. Had they gone inside they would have realized something was very wrong and not left the note…

"Why don't we go visit Blake?" Michiru asked.

"He might be at work but we can go see. I think everything will be fine as long as he doesn't ask too many questions."

"What if he does?"

"As long as Alexander doesn't show his fangs around him I think it will be fine."

Haruka scratched her chin for a moment. "He's going to ask questions as to how I got the mansion and the car."

"Your mother died and left it to you. What else is there to say?"

"Well it's not lying." Haruka nodded and left for Blake's apartment.

Unlike her father, Blake was home. Both women looked at each other before leaving the Ferrari and approaching the door to his apartment. Haruka knocked a special knock she had always done so Blake knew it was her. They both heard scuffling in the apartment and the door opened quickly.

"Oh my God! Haruka!" Blake threw his arms around her. "I thought something had happened to you. I was so worried!" It was the first time he had ever hugged her.

"It's alright, Blake. I'm fine. It's just been an interesting last few months."

Blake released Haruka and stepped back. He turned his head to Michiru. "Michiru?"

"Hey, Blake." She spoke softly.

"So, are you guys… like… back together?" He smiled as he asked.

"Yeah. Well, can we come in?" Haruka motioned to the living room.

"Of course!" Blake stepped back for the two to enter. "I was just watching some TV." He picked up a few empty coke cans and threw them away. "What happened?" He asked when he rejoined them in the living room and sat on the couch.

"A lot happened." Haruka said and grew silent for a moment. She had never told Blake about her mother. It was always a secret part of her life she never shared. "I met my mother."

"I thought she… died a long time ago?"

"It's a long story. She's dead now though."

"I'm sorry." Blake grew silent.

"Michiru and I came here for a certain reason." Haruka looked at Michiru and took her hand. "We're getting married and I wanted you to come to the wedding."

Blake looked down at the hand Haruka had grasped and saw the ring. "Wow. How did you afford that?"

"My mother left me everything when she passed." Haruka kept her focus on Blake. She had been keeping herself from hearing others' thoughts when unnecessary but his thoughts flew freely into her mind.

_-I'm so happy for her. I'm glad she's finally happy. She will never know how much I love her though.-_ Blake tried to hide his inner thoughts with a smile.

Haruka and Michiru both turned to each other. Haruka would have never guessed Blake felt that way about her. In a way it hurt her to know that. She frowned for a moment as she looked at Michiru.

"I'd love to go. Can I be your best man!?" He bounced a bit on the couch.

"Sure." Haruka chuckled for a moment.

"When is it?"

"We haven't decided on a date yet. I just asked her last night." Haruka gently squeezed Michiru's hand. "I guess I need to give you my new phone number. I'm sorry I just disappeared for a while."

"I knew you would show up again soon. Everyone in college went crazy for a while. Your team captain seemed really upset. No one knew what happened to you."

"I had to leave my old life behind. That's really all I can say." Haruka never wanted Blake to know of the Lilin. She feared he would be dragged into it if he ever found out. "A lot has happened and in the end I've become a stronger person."

"As long are you're happy." Blake continued to smile.

"I have everything I've ever wanted and then so much more. I'll give you a call sometime and let you know when we have a date set. We have some other preparations to take care of." Haruka laced her fingers with Michiru's.

"Alright, I'm just glad you're okay. Don't scare me like that ever again." Blake led the couple to the door and opened it. "I'll hear from you soon, right?"

"Yeah." Haruka smiled as they exited. "You will."

The moment they entered Haruka's car they turned to each other. "I never knew he felt like that about me." Haruka spoke first.

"I would have never guessed either."

"He did always want me to be happy. Now I see why. I just hope he can find someone that will make him happy. He really deserves it."

"Don't worry, Haruka. He'll find someone." Michiru smiled reassuringly. "Just as I found you he will find someone."

**Xxxxxxxxx**

As Haruka and Michiru arrived back at the mansion someone watched them from afar. It was the same girl that was observing Michiru in Atlanta. Despite the heat she continued to cover her entire body minus her face and head. She had been watching the mansion for a few days now in a small, inconspicuous car. To her right was her messenger bag. She dug inside of it and pulled out her book of notes and flipped through it as she had done in Atlanta. Aside from notes were also a few drawings she had drawn as well. One drawing was a detailed portrait of Michiru. Another one was a drawing of three almost identical blades. The girl glanced back up at the mansion and shut her book of notes. She just had to continue playing the waiting game a just bit longer.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

"What do you think Joe will think?" Michiru questioned Haruka inside the mansion.

"As far as what?" Haruka questioned.

"I don't even know what he thinks about same-sex marriage. Honestly… I never thought about getting married until I met you. I don't think I ever wanted to get married until I met you."

"Well, you remember what I thought, don't you? I was so scared at first."

"Everything is going to be perfect now. Why don't I give Joe a call?" Michiru pulled out her cell phone and flipped through a few names. "I'm curious to see if he would come."

As soon as the phone began to ring Michiru moved close to Haruka so she could hear the call as well. After a few rings Joe picked it up

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, Joe."

_"Everything alright?"_

"Everything is perfect. I just have a question."

_"What is it?"_

"Uhm… well… I want to know if you would like to… come to mine and Haruka's wedding."

_"…" Joe was silent. Both women were unsure of his response or how he felt the instant his side was quiet. "Uh. Don't you think you are rushing things?"_

"No. We've been through hell and back and we managed to forgive each other after everything. I've never felt this way about anyone in my life. She's the one for me and I have no doubt about it."

_Joe remained silent a little longer. "If it will make you happy I'll come."_

"We don't have a date yet but I'll let you know as soon as we know."

_"Can Haruka hear me?"_

"I can hear you." Haruka spoke in her deep voice.

_"Take care of my girl for me."_

Haruka smiled. Despite everything, Joe finally found it in himself to be a little nicer to Haruka. "I won't let anything happen to her."

_"Just let me know when it is. I have to get back to work."_

"Okay. Bye." Michiru hung up the phone and looked back at Haruka. "Wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been."

Alexander approached the couple and suggested that he take care of the preparations. They both agreed to it. After a few days Alexander had been able to make the correct arrangements. The wedding was only a week away. Both women took the time to enjoy each other's company. In the past four months they have missed so much time together and wanted to make it up to each other.

Haruka had not yet heard anything from her father yet. She went to visit his house and found that he had taken the note from the door but was not home. It worried her a bit but in the end she figured it was possible he did not support their decision. He had become outraged when she wanted to move in with Michiru.

Haruka decided to kill some time and took Michiru to the basement to show her the experiment her and Alexander had done with the blood samples. It made Michiru uncomfortable to be in the room with all the sleeping humans. Haruka had to know one thing before the night was over. Was it Victor's bite, his saliva that entered her blood stream, the final step in the process of turning one into a Lilin? Sure enough after she had swabbed her own mouth and added it to the mixture of human blood and her blood it changed. Out of curiosity Michiru insisted she repeat the process with hers. The results were the same. They were both able to turn humans in Lilin. But why? That was the only answer they could not answer.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

In the early morning Haruka's phone sounded off. She wondered who would be calling her at 7:00 am and answered it. Michiru had also been awakened from the noise.

"Blake?" Haruka questioned him.

_ "Haruka, I'm sorry to call you so early. I was up watching TV and there was an accident on the news. It happened yesterday but they just released the name. It's your father, he was hit by a car. He's in the hospital. I went to see how he was and I didn't see you there."_

"What!?" Haruka sat up instantly. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Haruka threw the covers off and ran to the closet to find something to put on. Michiru had sat up quickly in the bed. "Michiru, my dad was in an accident."

"Oh no!" Michiru quickly jumped out of bed as well and changed.

Within five minutes Haruka was speeding to the hospital. Lucky for her there were no cops around as she was going well over the posted speed limit.

"Haruka. Calm down." Michiru tried to calm the blonde that was driving.

"I knew something was wrong with him. I knew I should have checked on him. What if he was still enthralled? Whatever it was probably did this to him!" Haruka continued to speed until she arrived. The moment she had parked she ran into the hospital leaving Michiru trying to catch up. Haruka approached the desk and waited for Michiru.

"I'm looking for Nobuo Tenoh." Haruka said quickly.

"He's still in surgery."

"How is he?" Haruka was trying to calm her nerves.

"I don't know. Please take a seat."

Instead of taking a seat Haruka paced around the room for a moment. Michiru tried her best to have Haruka sit down next to her but she would not.

"I knew I should have seen how he was doing." Haruka kept mumbling to herself. "Michiru, I need to take a walk. I'll be back." Haruka took off down an empty hallway.

Michiru sat quietly as the blonde left her sight of view. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. Seeing Haruka so upset and worked up bothered her.

"Everything alright?" A voice spoke just a few feet away.

"Yeah… I hope…" Michiru turned and met the face of someone familiar. "You aren't stalking me are you?"

"No. I just happened to be here to visit a friend." The girl spoke. It was the girl from Atlanta. Michiru studied her again. She was wearing long sleeves and gloves again and her raven colored hair draped down just below her waist.

"I see." Michiru propped her chin onto her thumb for a moment. There was no way it was a coincidence this girl was here as well. When she tried to hear the surface thoughts of the girl next to her nothing came. It almost felt like there was a block preventing it.

"I hope I'm not bothering you." She spoke quietly.

"No, you're fine."

"My name is Rei." She held out a hand to shake Michiru's.

"Well, you already know my name." Michiru tried to play it off as though she was not suspicious. She had learned that nothing in her life was ever a coincidence. Michiru held her hand out for a shake. Rei continued to grasp onto Michiru's hand a little longer. She stared deep into Michiru's blue eyes as though she was trying to read her mind. "Can I have my hand back now?"

"Oh. I'm sorry." She let go of Michiru's hand and sat down next to her. She was deep in thought for a moment.

Michiru turned to watch the hallway that Haruka had walked down. No sight of the blonde still. The waiting room was interrupted as Rei suddenly collapsed on the floor next to her.

"Rei! Are you okay?" Michiru knelt down next to her to hold her still as the girl shook for a moment. Her eyes had rolled back into her head and she slowly stopped shaking.

"Amara! Amara!" She repeated a few times.

"Amara?" Michiru continued to try to help the girl on the floor.

The woman at the desk had called a few nurses into the room. Rei sat up after a moment and pushed the nurses away. "I'm fine." She glared at them and sat back in the chair.

Michiru looked at her. "How do you know the name Amara?"

**Xxxxxxxxx**

~About ten minutes ago~

"Michiru, I need to take a walk. I'll be back." Haruka took off down an empty hallway. She continued to try to calm her nerves as she walked down a few empty corridors. Where she was going she had no idea but kept walking. After a minute she stopped and leaned against a wall with her hands. "Dad. Please be okay."

"Excuse me." She heard a young girl's voice talk behind her.

Haruka turned to see the girl. Her dark hair cut to her shoulders and she had mysterious purple eyes. She estimated the girl's age to be around 12 or thirteen. "Can I help you? Are you lost?"

"No. Are you Haruka Tenoh?" The girl asked shyly.

"That's me…" Haruka cocked one of her eyebrows.

"Oh." The girl muttered under her breath and looked down the hallway for a moment. Haruka looked down as well to see what the girl was looking at. Suddenly Haruka felt a sharp pain in her gut.

"What the hell?" She collapsed to the floor and looked down at the pain. The young girl had managed to catch her off guard and stab a familiar weapon into her stomach. "This can't be happening." Haruka's world slowly faded away as she looked down at the Kris in her stomach. The color from her surroundings disappeared while she watched the blade working a strange and familiar magic on her body. "You bitch."

The girl smirked and whispered to Haruka. "You're mine now."

Haruka gasped for air as she watched darkness engulf her slowly. From a distance she heard someone calling a name. "Hotaru. Hotaru, where did you go?"

The last thought that crossed Haruka's mind was 'My name's not Hotaru.' Then everything faded into utter darkness.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

**Epilogue**

"Haruka. Haruka. Harukaaaaaaaaa." A deep voice called her name.

"Where am I?" Haruka could feel herself laying down in darkness.

"Oh, there you are. I thought I lost you for a moment."

"What happened?" Haruka continued to ask the voice.

"You didn't think you would escape this hell so easily did you?"

"Lucas?"

"That's me."

"How did I get back here?" Haruka opened her eyes but everything was pitch black.

"Are you sure you ever left?" Lucas' voice roared with laughter.

The scene finally came into view. Haruka looked around at her surroundings. She was surrounded by prison bars in a dark cell. Except this time, there was no light in the distance.

"I told you, once you enter this nightmare you can never escape." Lucas' voice boomed all around her.

**Xxxxxxxxx**

**Small peak into the next story:**

Mina had managed to drag Rei into a mall for some 'light' shopping. All the while Rei insisted there were more important things to be handling other than shopping.

"Shopping is a good stress reliever for me!" Mina said as she dragged Rei by the arm into a random shop.

Rei scoffed. Mina's priorities would become slightly out order at the most crucial times. Rei was not about to fight against a Lilin – it would be a battle she could not win, thus, she often found herself being dragged around by the blonde. While Mina browsed through the store Rei flipped through her book of notes.

"Mina, we need to be looking for the other weapon before matters get any worse." Rei said as she traced her gloved finger across her notes.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Alright so my roommate came up with the idea of using these two characters in the next story. I'm not sure how many Rei/Mina fans there are but if you stick to the end the third story I'm going to have a lot of fun with. As much as I enjoy reading and writing about Haruka/Michiru I have to admit Usagi/Seiya is almost borderline my favorite couple over Haruka/Michiru. They were so cute together. :D So my final story will be Usagi/Seiya for those fans. I'm not sure when I will be able to get started on my second story for this storyline just yet. I have another story that has been playing in my mind for a while and I might give that one a shot. It will be short though, like 5 chapters or so... so I should be back to this storyline soon I hope. :)


End file.
